


And the Void Answered Back

by Ghost_Owl



Series: walk the (family) line [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (in no way is yoda gonna tell him how to blow up trees with lightning), Anakin Needs a Hug, Angst, Canon Compliant, Force Ghosts, Gen, Humor, Implied Obikin, POV changes will give you whiplash, Y’ALL I FORGOT TO TAG LUKE FOR LIKE 2 CHAPTERS I AM ASHAMED, anakin is still a disaster but Kylo is WORSE, anakin really wants to punch something ok?, and bitching, i plead “they had 30 yrs to work stuff out and i wanna write fluff”, kinda cracky?, lots of snark, maybe a bit more than implied but can be read as platonic, obi wan needs a nap, ok I'll shut up now, reacting to my grandson's bullshit, romance isn't the focus of the story anyway, so our ghost boys are a LOT more communicative which is kinda ooc, that's cute, y'all wanted a stress-free afterlife?!?!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2019-09-07 14:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 110,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16856158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Owl/pseuds/Ghost_Owl
Summary: Anakin Skywalker had made the reasonable (stupid,so stupid) assumption that when he died, that was the end of his line fucking up the galaxy.As we all know, Kylo Ren promptly told the Force to hold his beer.Anakin is So Done.(Follows the Force ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, and friends getting dragged kicking and screaming through the events ofThe Force Awakens)





	1. Luke needs to open his eyes in *every way possible*

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooooo YouTube, time for another segment of Force Ghosts React-- lol jk jk, but not really? 
> 
> *Just an FYI, this work is completely unbetaed and you might find a mistake or two.

“You have porg droppings on your shoulder.”

The winds of Ahch-To whipped around the small island, the long green grasses whispering as they bended and swayed in the breeze. 

It ruffled the tattered robes and messy hair of the old Jedi Master sitting silently on the grassy outcropping overlooking the sea, eyes closed and cross-legged, seemingly unaware to his surroundings which included a small flock of porgs tumbling around in the grass behind him, tussling with each other and filling the air with a chorus of chirps and trills. 

The man’s surroundings also included a transparent, faintly glowing blue figure who floated a couple feet off the ground, the wind not disturbing a strand of his artfully tousled hair or his slightly crooked robes, for he was in fact, dead, and invisible to the elements.

Unfortunately, he was also invisible to the majority of the living world, as Obi Wan Kenobi again was reminded of with a grimace as an especially rambunctious porg went flying through the air and directly through his stomach, reflexively clutching the wine bottle he grasped protectively to his chest. While being passed through resulted in nothing worse than an odd ticklish sensation, it was still rather unnerving even after 35 years and more than a bit rude in Obi Wan’s opinion. 

He had to remind himself that the porg couldn’t help it because unlike _certain parties present at the moment,_ the small animals did not have the ability to see him.

“Honestly,” he addressed the back of the figure who could _very much see him_ if he was so inclined, “from one wizened hermit to another, being alone and sorry for yourself isn’t an excuse to let personal hygiene slide.” 

He shook the bottle accusingly at Luke’s motionless figure, continuing to lecture. “Do you know what I would have given to have regular access to water during my exile? The least you can do is clean yourself more than once a cycle!”

Luke said nothing.

With a huff, Obi Wan drifted down to settle cross-legged on the grass behind his former student. “I think he’s ignoring me,” he told the porg rolling around in the grass closest to him. 

The porg wobbled to its feet, stumbled a few steps, then faceplanted directly in Obi Wan’s lap. 

Obi Wan sighed, taking another swig from his bottle. No one knew how exactly the food and drink appeared in the middle realm since ghosts didn’t really need to eat, drink, or even sleep, but constantly viewing the living world often led to missing its benefits and if one found oneself wanting something, they only had to think and it would appear. 

Obi Wan had found himself wanting a good drink more and more often due to recent events.

“Actually, that isn’t quite right,” he corrected himself. “He’s closed himself off from the Force entirely, which means he’s not ignoring me, he’s ignoring _everything_. It also means there’s no way he can be meditating without a Force connection, that's always bored him, so I have no clue why he’s been just sitting here for the past two blasted hours.” 

Getting back up, Obi Wan drifted around to face Luke, examining him closely. His chest rose and fall slowly and evenly, the harsh lines and craters on his worn face slightly less severe like this, and Obi Wan’s heart gave a pang as he remembered the baby sleeping peacefully in his arms on the cramped transport to Tatooine, the clear-eyed desert boy with the light blazing bright and joyous around his entire being as he listened to another broken old man tell him just how very special he was. 

Luke was never supposed to become the broken old man in the story. 

The wind died down slightly, and Obi Wan caught a small, wheezing sound. He listened more carefully— there it was again, coming from Luke. A rasping snort, followed by a breathy exhale.

 _Snoring_ , Obi Wan thought, a harsh laugh caught in his throat, _Luke is asleep, just sitting like that_. 

Obi Wan did laugh then at a memory resurfacing, recalling his dismay during a long ago training session when he had come out of a meditative trance only to catch his then young apprentice, Luke’s father, asleep in the same position Luke was in right now. 

“Some things never change,” he murmured, turning around and promptly fumbling his wine bottle in surprise at the sight of the new figure who had materialized out of nowhere. Internally scolding himself for not sensing the smaller figure’s presence, he hastily shoved the bottle back into his robes and offered a polite bow. “Master Yoda. A pleasant surprise.”

And it was a surprise. Although he had deigned not to move on just yet, in the years following the fall of the Empire Yoda had been appearing less and less, preferring to spend more time immersed in the very fabric of the Force itself, undoubtedly gaining more knowledge to become wiser and more cryptic than ever. He had been around more often after Snoke reared his ugly head and the galaxy gradually fell to shit for the umpteenth time, but Obi Wan still didn’t see him nearly as often as he did Master Qui Gon, and especially not as much as he did Anakin.

Yoda chuckled, poking his gimer stick in the direction of where Obi Wan had tucked away his liquor. “Enjoying the ocean view, are we, Obi Wan?”

“Er-“ said Obi Wan.

“Hmm, yes, a very good idea indeed.” Yoda hummed, shuffling around to take a seat next to Luke, who remained stubbornly unaware of everything. “Sometimes, need a distraction, we all do, to take our minds off the troubles the Force shows us. A blessing such sight is, but a burden too, it can be…” The old master’s eyes grew distant as he stared off over the horizon. 

Obi Wan hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth to address him only to shut it quickly as Yoda swung his head back around to fix his gaze on Obi Wan. “Not quite right, you were,” he said.

Obi Wan blinked. “Pardon?”

“Great change is coming. Rising anew, is the Dark Side, and uncertain the future is. Restore the balance, we need to.”

 _Again…_ Obi Wan thought darkly to himself.

“Again,” Yoda echoed aloud in sad agreement, seemingly sensing his thoughts. “Sensed an awakening, I have.”

At the word “awakening”, Obi Wan’s eyes traveled to Luke to see if he had woken up, only to receive a sharp prod in the side from Yoda’s stick. “An awakening in the _Force_ ,” urged Yoda irritably. “Sensed it too, you have, I can tell.”

Rubbing at his aching ribs and resisting the most un-Master-like urge to make a face, Obi Wan conceded Yoda’s point. Lately the Force had been different, more electric, energy coiled back like a blaster with the safety off or an object balancing on a precipice. _Something_ was going to happen, and the resulting reaction would be explosive.

“The Force is restless,” Obi Wan observed and Yoda made a noise of assent. “What do you think it is trying to say?”

“To know now is too soon,” Yoda mused, resting his chin on his stick and returned to pensively staring out over the sea. On a whim, Obi Wan offered him the wine bottle, sending him into a fit of cackling. “Much appreciated, Master Kenobi, though decline I will.”

The two sat in silence next to the sleeping Luke for a while, basking in the steady hum and flow of the Force all around them. Suddenly, Yoda’s ear flicked and he sat up. “More answers soon, we may have.” 

Obi Wan turned to ask him to clarify, the movement all he was given before an all too-familiar Force signature whirled onto the scene like a typhoon on Kamino, blazing with all its usual intensity of a thousand suns and fueled with the tight fury of built-up frustration. 

A small smile at the familiarity of it all crossed Obi Wan’s lips despite himself as he turned to see the storm of wild hair and stony scowl dressed in black that was Anakin Skywalker in a mood stomping towards them. 

“Is he talking to you right now?” Anakin demanded by way of greeting, promptly turning his back on his fellow Force ghosts to loom over Luke’s silent figure. “Luke? _Luke!_ This is your father and I have something really karking important to tell you so could you just—“

“Really, Anakin, there’s no need to shout,” Obi Wan interrupted, not even flinching when Anakin whirled around to glare at him. “It doesn’t matter how loud your voice is if he doesn’t want to listen.”

“Sleeping, he is.” Yoda added as Anakin bristled even further.

“Oh, he’s _sleeping_ , is he?” Anakin sneered, shifting his glare back to his son. “Well we better let him do it now because fucking _Ben_ —“

“ _Anakin_ ,” Obi Wan crossed over to put a firm, steadying hand on his former apprentice’s shoulder. He had spent a lifetime and beyond working with Anakin’s panic attacks, and under the spiny, enflamed haze bubbling and hissing over Anakin’s aura, Obi Wan could sense pain, guilt, stress, and at the root of it all a deep well of fear curdling within him. Anakin was extremely worried about Luke. 

Obi Wan didn’t say anything, only kept his hand where it was despite Anakin’s halfhearted attempt to shake it off and focused on sending feelings of assurance, affection, and peace through their bond. 

Gradually, Anakin’s eyes met his and Obi Wan felt a sense of relief was over him at the lack of sickly yellow in their deep blue depths. He extended his consciousness to try and smooth out the angry knots and snarls pulsing in his friend’s mind, sweeping away any dark tendrils he found like bothersome cobwebs. The muscle under his hand, while still vibrating with tension, started to relax.

They stood there a moment longer, Obi Wan raising an eyebrow. 

Anakin slumped suddenly, weariness crossing his youthful face and for a moment, the hell he had lived through was obvious. In the blink of an eye he was moving again, plucking the wine bottle out of Obi Wan’s hand and taking a long gulp.

“Oh do help yourself,” Obi Wan snipped, Anakin flapping a hand dismissively at him as he proceeded to drain the rest of the bottle as he began pacing. 

Resigning himself, Obi Wan settled back down and waited patiently for Anakin to finish the bottle, burst into a coughing fit as some went down the wrong pipe, wipe his mouth, pace a bit more and then flop onto the ground beside his old master, empty bottle disappearing back into the Force.

Anakin ran his flesh hand over his face. “ _Fucking_ Ben…”

Obi Wan made an inquisitive noise, running his fingers distractedly through Anakin’s curls. It was times like this he was more grateful than ever he had chosen not to cross over. 

His place had always been next to Anakin and his family, watching over and looking out for them. The birth of his grandson had done so much to restore Anakin to more than just a weak shadow of his former self after his return to the light, and it had broken Obi Wan almost as much as it had the rest of Ben Solo’s family when he fell. He had been Anakin’s support more than ever recently, the both of them dividing their time between watching over Leia and her Resistance, Luke’s desolation, and the dark soul that now went by Kylo Ren. 

Anakin never used his new chosen name. He wasn’t a Sith, the name held no value or standing, and it hurt him to say it. On the contrary, as with Vader, it hurt Obi Wan much more to say the original name. 

“I’m guessing watching Kylo was more unpleasant than usual?” Obi Wan asked gently.

Anakin huffed. “That’s an understatement. The First Order just found out where the other piece of Luke’s map is.” 

Obi Wan pursed his lips in dismay as Anakin continued, glaring at Luke again. “I _knew_ this was going to happen. He shouldn’t have run off in the first place, but if he was going to, he shouldn’t have made it so anyone in the kriffing galaxy could figure out how to find him!”

“It’s only one half of the map,” Obi Wan reminded him. “And, doesn’t the Resistance already have the first half as well as someone going after the second?” 

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but it won’t matter unless Leia has both. Don’t get me wrong, I like Dameron, he’s probably the best there is right now, but that doesn’t change that there’s only him and his droid while Ben’s headed there with a whole squadron of troopers. And even if Dameron escapes and gets it back, there’s no guarantee whatever Luke did to R2 will let him show the other piece.”

Obi Wan stroked his beard pensively, considering the facts. “Last I was there, the Resistance had the name but not the location of the man who had the map; finding him was part of Dameron’s job. He’s definitely found him then?”

Anakin nodded. “He’s already left to get it.” He sat up suddenly, frown deepening in annoyance. “And you won’t believe where the damn thing is. It’s on _Jakku_. Jakku! Why does everything have to be in the desert? The desert fucking sucks!”

Obi Wan wrinkled his nose in agreement. While he didn’t share Anakin’s not-quite-irrational hatred of sand, spending almost two decades on another desert planet from hell left him with no desire to go back to one himself.

“Jakku?” Both men jumped, having forgotten all about Yoda, who had been sitting and watching their whole exchange. “On Jakku, this map is? Where everyone is headed?”

Anakin shifted uncomfortably, after all this time still not liking to be under the scrutiny of the former Grandmaster. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

Yoda’s eyes narrowed. “Hmmm. A place of endings, no? One of the last battles in the Civil War, was it not? A junkyard where machines go to die? Yes.” Nodding to himself as if deciding on something, he swung around to wave his stick at both of the human ghosts. “A place of beginnings it may become now. The Force feels right. To Jakku you both must go.”

Anakin made a face Obi Wan was almost certain meant _But sAnD..._ , and quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him away. “Come on, you. It won’t kill you to look.”

Ignoring Anakin’s sulky “Already dead”, he turned on his heel and the pair vanished into the Force. 

Yoda looked at the spot where they disappeared for a moment before turning back to Luke Skywalker who was still currently deader to the world than the actual ghost present.

A loud _chirrup!_ purred from overhead as another flock of porgs sailed over the cliff to dive into the sea.

Another splatter of white landed on Luke’s other shoulder.

Yoda sniffed. “Sadder than my exile in an actual swamp, this is.”

Luke said nothing.

_“Fought creatures for food, I did!”_

A sharp poke in the back sent Luke snorting awake, but as he looked around, only the porgs were there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna have humor I promise, but the characters are getting angstier than I thought so we'll see where that goes. Also, I know Ani's a bit cranky at Luke this chapter, but like Obi Wan notes, Angry Yelling is the way Skywalkers express concern and anxiety, and they also do Not Like Being Ignored. Guy's just worried and stressed over his fam.


	2. Unexpected Trips Down Memory Lane Suck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So posting schedule? Who is she? I'm basically gonna work on this whenever but if I finish a chapter it's going up as soon as I'm done. Never more than a week between updates, I'm pretty sure.

Anakin and Obi Wan materialized into the silence of a desert cloaked in nighttime. Clouds overhead yielded no light from stars nor moon and no wind stirred the arid ground. 

They were standing beside an open X-Wing fighter parked behind a rock outcropping on the outskirts of a small gathering of houses, barely a village, golden glows of light streaming from cracks in doors and from windows carved into the side of the little domes. Anakin immediately took to examining the ship and its condition while Obi Wan stepped away to glance around.

“The First Order doesn’t appear to have beaten our man here, at least,” Obi Wan murmured, scanning the peaceful village as well as the sky for signs of incoming ships. “You saw them depart, how much time would you say we have until their arrival?”

“Not long.” Anakin spoke shortly, his face shadowed as he shot a dark look at the surroundings, things that weren’t there rising in his vision, things that happened long ago but still haunted him. 

Obi Wan raised an eyebrow. “‘Could I get a vaguer answer, perhaps?” 

Anakin snorted, jostling Obi Wan with his shoulder as he moved past him and towards the village, pushing the unpleasant thoughts to stew at the back of his mind and focus on the task at hand. “However fast their shuttles are moving, how’s that for a time check? C’mon, lets make sure Dameron’s definitely found it so he can get off this rock.” 

They slipped unseen through the small encampment and inside one of the huts, no different from any of the ones surrounding it but for the invisible pull of the Force, telling them that this was where they needed to go. 

Two figures sat hunched inside, illuminated by the dim light. One was old, maybe ten or so years older than Luke (possibly even younger; Obi Wan knew firsthand the toll the desert took on ones appearance), the dim light casting shadows on his wrinkled face and tired, yet kind eyes. 

Across from him was someone much younger, dark haired, prominent cheekbones, deep brown eyes that shone with the flame of righteousness when the light hit them. 

The Force hummed around them as the old man reached into his robes and withdrew what appeared to be a small, dark pouch and pressed it into the other man, Dameron’s, hand. “He’s Force-sensitive,” Obi Wan remarked in surprise. 

“Who, Dameron?” Anakin asked, still watching the exchange. “I mean yeah he’s a great pilot, but that doesn’t mean—“

“No, the other one, Lor San Tekka, was it?” Obi Wan responded as San Tekka spoke of how this pouch would begin to make things right. There was no balance in the Force without the Jedi. “See? He senses it too.” 

“You can say that again,” Anakin grumbled as the Force gave another tremor. As the ghosts resided in the web of the Force itself, any changes were felt prominently, and its constant upheavals like an especially turbulent sea lately could give a ghost a similar feeling of seasickness if one was not properly in tune with the current. 

As if it had taken Anakin’s grumblings as a personal challenge (it probably had, the Force did so _love_ the Skywalkers), there was the sudden sensation of stepping on a live-wire as the Force blared a warning. 

At the same time, Obi Wan gave a gasped “Hello there!” to the little BB droid that came squawking through the doorway they were still standing in and directly through Obi Wan’s legs (again, _rude_ ), bleeping distressingly at Dameron. 

Obi Wan couldn’t make it all out, but Anakin could, growing tenser before swearing sharply in Huttese just as Poe declared, “We’ve got company.”

“First Order’s here, just broke atmosphere,” Anakin told Obi Wan as Dameron and San Tekka briefly argued before San Tekka shooed the pilot and his droid through the Force ghosts and out the door. 

“I can tell,” Obi Wan shot back as the sky lit up the cruel white of approaching ships and the air filled with the scream of engines. “’Not long”, you said?” 

Anakin flipped him a crude hand gesture in response as they ran after Poe, who was dashing through the village towards his X-Wing. 

“At least the villagers are armed,” Anakin managed, though the doubt was clear in his voice as the first wave of Stormtroopers poured out of the shuttles to engage with the defenders. 

Sure enough, when blasters started to sound, most of the bodies hitting the ground were not clad in white armor and Anakin averted his eyes, tasting bile.

Obi Wan shot him a concerned glance as they reached the X-Wing, Dameron shouting to BB-8 as they both scrambled into their seats. 

“He’s not moving fast enough,” Anakin worried as Poe lowered the cockpit roof, catching some troopers headed their way out of the corner of his eye. “C’mon,” Anakin urged him, hands twitching to grab the controls himself. “Get her in the air, you need to—“

 _“Get down!”_

Obi Wan's voice was sharp in his ear and Anakin’s body hit the ground on instinct before his mind even processed the command, his master right beside him with a heavy hand on his back as enemy blaster bolts shot straight through where they were previously standing to explode against Poe’s X-Wing. 

Brains set to battle-mode wired in long ago, they scrambled behind the rocks for cover, Anakin forgetting completely that he was a ghost and impervious to harm until he grabbed empty air at his belt where his lightsaber would usually hang. 

From the soft “shit” beside him, he guessed Obi Wan had done the same thing. 

“I always forget we have to summon them now,” Obi Wan said ruefully after a moment of just staring at each other, assessing damage as they always did and relaxing ever so slightly at the assurance that the other was unharmed. 

“Right?” Anakin agreed, focusing for a moment until the metal cylinder appeared in his hand, nerves settling slightly at the familiar weight of it. Yeah, they couldn’t actually _use_ their sabers, but it didn’t feel… right, not to have them with them.

Well, it wasn’t exactly true that they couldn’t use them, but Obi Wan caught Anakin eyeing his saber with a familiar look on his face and met his eyes with a firm shake of the head. 

_There’s rules, remember?_ his gaze chastised.

 _Rules karking suck, remember?_ Anakin shot back but lowered his saber. At this point, Dameron had returned fire and taken out the assailants with the ship’s cannons but was still on the ground. 

Anakin shot a look at it. “Well he’s dead, there’s the rear engine panel damaged.”

 _“Anakin,”_ Obi Wan scolded as Dameron attempted and failed again to take off, popped out of the cockpit to look, and seemed to notice the same thing. He remained there for a moment. 

“He needs to take that information and run,” Anakin said. “He won’t be able to fix it and getting that map back to the Resistance is important. He needs to do it now, before Ben lands, I can feel him!”

“Do you really think he’s going to just leave the villagers here?” Obi Wan asked gently. 

Anakin ran a frustrated hand through his hair as they saw Poe reach into his pouch and slip the tiny map piece into one of BB-8’s compartments, urging him to take it away. “Of course not, he’s just gonna slip the valuable information into an innocent droid and send him off into a desert hell planet to fend for himself while Mr. Hero gets himself captured and and interrogated and holy _shit_ , no wonder this guy’s Leia’s favorite.”

Obi Wan gave a startled bark of laughter at the realization of the strange similarity. “As I seem to recall, when Leia tried this particular plan, things didn’t turn out quite so badly, now did they?”

“Leia sent _R2_ ,” Anakin protested. “The Force itself couldn’t kill him if it tried, why do you think he’s got the other piece of Luke’s map? And even then, R2 was with 3PO and had you and Luke there to help.”

“ _Luke_ nearly got all three of them killed by Tuskens before I found them.” Obi Wan reminded him.

Anakin waved his hand dismissively, eying the little droid rolling off into the darkness as Dameron took out a rifle and started returning fire. “You were there, it was fine.” 

Obi Wan opened his mouth to object, but Anakin continued. “Point is, that BB seems pretty scrappy but I don’t know about— Ben.”

“Wha— oh…” Obi Wan felt the temperature drop seconds after Anakin did, a shiver running down his spine as a shuttle materialized out of the clouds, an inky stain on an already murky canvas descending upon the battle taking place like some monstrous winged creature. 

Seeing the look on Anakin’s face, he suggested, “Anakin, maybe you should follow the droid to see if he runs into any trouble. I can watch he—“

“No.” Anakin took off for where the shuttle was landing, cloak still managing to dramatically billow behind him despite the lack of air affecting it. Obi Wan swore it was because his true gift from the Force was that of Dramatics, never minding that his own cloak did it too and that he might just enjoy it. Making an entrance was never a bad thing. 

“He’s doing this for Grandpa’s attention, he’s going to get it.” Anakin declared. 

_Never mind he’s never listened to me before…_

As they made their way back into the village, Obi Wan noticed the remaining villagers all rounded up. Family members clung to each other. In the center of it all, Lor San Tekka knelt at gunpoint as the world burned around him and a dark shadowy figure with a mask that reflected firelight stalked towards him. 

“He shouldn’t have hid in a crowded village,” Obi Wan said to Anakin as they approached the old man.

“All these people were prepared to defend themselves and him,” Anakin answered back in the dispassionate tone of an ex-Imperial. “They were clearly against the First Order, there was a good chance they would have ended up fighting them anyway.”

“But they wouldn’t have been ambushed like this!” the ex-old desert man hiding something important retorted. “I was a desert _hermit_ , I made sure that if the Empire ever found me, hells, if _you_ ever found me, there wasn’t anyone nearby to get hurt, especially not Luke.”

“I wouldn’t have come and you knew it, you bastard.” Anakin said distractedly as Kylo— _Ben_ loomed over San Tekka. “Sand was bad for the suit.”

“Oh yes, the _suit_ was the problem…” Obi Wan muttered as Anakin shushed him as the dark figure began to speak.

“Look how old you’ve become.”

Anakin immediately broke his own silence rule to snarl in disgust. “I hate that fucking voice. I hate it _so much_. Fucking mask. He wants to wear it for the 'aesthetic'? Wants to look just like I did? I needed mine to _breathe. I couldn’t eat solid food. My eyeballs had permanent damage!_ I had to have that stupid posh-voiced vocoder because my vocal cords were _literally burned out of me!_ ”

“Now you be quiet, we’re missing what he’s saying!” Obi Wan hissed back, definitely not uncomfortable due to who exactly put Anakin in that suit in the first place.

“My _kriffing vocal cords, Obi Wan!_ ”

“Shhh!”

“…Order rose from the Dark Side. You did not.” San Tekka was telling Ren. Both ghosts were now shifting rather uncomfortably at the sight of another old man facing down another dark masked monster, seemingly nonchalant over the dark power the latter boasted. They both had a feeling what came next, no Force necessary.

“I’ll show you the Dark Side,” Ren informed San Tekka.

Anakin was spitting mad now, right up next to Ren’s mask but still annoyingly unseen. “You _idiot_ , you don’t know the first _thing_ about the true Dark Side, you’re not even a real Sith—!”

“You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family.” San Tekka intoned, sad sunken eyes staring directly through the mask’s visor.

Anakin gave a bitter snort. “Well _Luke_ tried at first, he threw himself down a chas— Ben, _no!_ “ 

The Force lurched like an upset stomach and Anakin made a useless grab straight through his grandson that ended in a strangled yell as Ren ignited his crackling scarlet blade and sent it slashing down across San Tekka. This old man with a white beard didn’t go anywhere, crumpling at Ren’s feet like an old rag doll. 

_Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck_.

Anakin’s eyes were unwillingly glued to the corpse, not even able to lift them when Obi Wan started to say his name, not when the Force rolled again, not when he heard Poe shout in rage and the blaster shot, not until Ren tensed, whipped around with an arm extended and _froze it_. 

“Karking hells.” Now it was Obi Wan’s turn to swear, face open with shock as he cautiously stepped over to where the bolt was seemingly paused, fizzing and snapping in midair. “This kind of ability…” 

“Okay that,” Anakin’s voice was unusually small. “That, I knew how to do. The way they teach it to you though…” He shuddered and Obi Wan started to move towards him when a pair of troopers brushed past him clutching a struggling Dameron between them. 

As Dameron was shoved in front of Ren, Ren dropped to kneel in front of him. The staredown was silent for a couple of moments, Dameron sneering defiantly. 

“So, who talks first? You talk first?” 

“I like him,” Obi Wan declared, while Anakin was again whisked back in time. Another pair of angry brown eyes seemed to glare straight through another mask.

_Lord Vader. Only you could be so bold…_

Anakin shook his head distractedly. So today was just going to be one big trip down memory lane, wasn’t it? Great. Just _great_. Anakin loved memories. Such happy fucking times...

He had missed Ren’s comeback and Dameron was mouthing off again. “It’s just very hard to understand you, with all the—“ 

“Search him.” Ren snapped.

“—apparatus…” Poe finished triumphantly before grunting as he was subjected to a fairly painful pat-down. 

“Yes, I really like him,” Obi Wan nodded in approval. Anakin managed to pull himself out of his slump at that. “What, because he seems to like taunting the guys who’re ready to _kill him_ just as much as someone else I know?”

Obi Wan sniffed. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

“What was it you told Maul about his metal legs again?”

“Hmm, not sure. Who was the one who couldn’t stop talking during our little stay with Hondo and his shock binds, though?”

Anakin ignored that, pressing on. “Or is it because he’s pretty? That why you like him?”

Obi Wan blinked. “Who, Poe?” as said man was dragged protesting onto the shuttle. 

“ _Poe_ , huh?“ 

Obi Wan gave Anakin a sideways glance. “Well, he is good-looking, objectively speaking.” A pause. “Good pilot, too.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway,” Obi Wan hurried on, focusing on the gleaming chrome trooper with the cape addressing Ren, whom they knew to be one Captain Phasma. “I’ve been wondering for a while, what are they thinking giving their officers that kind of armor? Light-catching like that, they’re basically wearing a walking target!”

Taking the change in discussion, Anakin nodded. “Yeah, and I thought the neon shoulder pauldrons for squad leaders in the Empire were too distinctive.”

They both fell silent as the captain asked Ren what to do with the remaining villagers.

Anakin went still as stone as Ren paused to look at them. “Don’t—“ 

“Kill them all,” Ren ordered her, almost casually.

Phasma nodded, stepping forward.

A slightly hysterical laugh from Anakin “Nope.” he rasped out, swaying slightly before vanishing on the spot.

Obi Wan turned in alarm. “Anakin!”

On Phasma’s commands, the troopers aimed at the villagers, and fired. 

It was now Obi Wan’s turn to stand paralyzed as the air erupted with the unique combination of blaster fire and screams of anguish that Obi Wan couldn’t even say was his first time hearing as he watched the troopers coldly and easily gun down innocents. He wanted to throw up the wine he had been nursing earlier— how long had this night been? It felt like forever —as Kylo Ren prowled through the carnage and back towards his ship. 

Ren stopped for a moment, seeming to focus on something, and when Obi Wan looked in direction, he appeared to be focused on the bloodstained mask of one of the troopers. The trooper seemed to be as unable to move as Obi Wan was, and something in the Force told him to focus on that, but Ren was moving again, passing by Obi Wan, close enough to touch. 

Obi Wan turned to watch the boy formerly named afer him walk away, when— “ _Fuck!_ ”

Obi Wan went shaking to his knees, for the still-frozen blaster bolt he had unknowingly stepped in front of had decided to thaw, going directly through his transparent chest to slam into the nearest hut.

“ _Well then,_ ” Obi Wan managed, ignoring the fact that his hands seemed to be shaking. Something exploded behind him. He sat on the sandy ground for a moment more before finally leaning back into the comforting embrace of the Force and allowing it to sweep him away.

A bit away, but far enough for the moment, Anakin hovered over the little BB unit trundling its way through the desert, whistling mournfully to itself. They both turned as something behind them exploded, Anakin jumping slightly, before continuing on their way. He was still trying to get his head back together because he was not—

 _I slaughtered them like_ animals… 

—he was _not_ witnessing any more desert massacres, thank you, not tonight, not by his own blood, not when he’d already taken so many charming little trips to the past.

He sighed as he felt a faint tug on the bond in his head, Obi Wan undoubtedly wanting to discuss why he had just disappeared on him like that. 

He glanced down at the droid rolling determinedly along over the shadowy sands. Surely BB-8 would be able to handle himself for a little while. When the bond called to him again, he gave in and faded away, leaving with a single gust of desert wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, did not realize this chapter was gonna get angsty, but these bois haven't gone to a single therapy session for their horrible life experiences (and decisions *cough cough anAKIN*) so when they run across reminders (like mr. i'm gonna reenact my gramps' entire facist dayjob) Ani's not gonna know really how to do much besides the good ol' "get mad or ignore it and I can chase it away".
> 
> Please leave some reviews! I'm needy!


	3. Anakin Going to a Sandy Hell Planet is Braver than Any Captured Resistance Agent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol so I'm a day late but this one's longer so maybe we're cool???
> 
> Also, just mentioning that I take all the animated shows as canon, but as Resistance is only in its first season and I'm sure as heck not waiting till it ends to finish this, I'm just gonna... casually...... ignore it.............. to avoid any new episodes messing with anything I wrote about it.

The swirling void of the Force twined around them as the two souls met up. Obi Wan could feel the red-hot agitation of stress and upset wrapped tightly around Anakin’s aura the second he materialized into the space, and the look on his face wasn’t much better. 

“Want to talk about what happened back there?” Obi Wan fell back into a cross-legged position, giving his partner his most open smile despite his own frayed nerves. 

Anakin sighed, pushing his hair back and letting the hand drag back down his face. “I shouldn’t have left you back there, I know, I’m sorry, I just…” He gestured helplessly. letting twitching fingers fall to his sides as he gave Obi Wan a pleading look.

“Memories?” Obi Wan finished for him.

Anakin nodded. “Memories.” He still looked rather lost so Obi Wan scooted over slightly, patting the open space of void next to him. Anakin took the invitation, folding himself against his side.

“I messed up so bad in life.” Anakin mumbled, staring at nothing. “ _So bad,_ Master.”

“You did mess up quite terribly, didn’t you?” Obi Wan agreed, giving the other man’s knee a comforting squeeze. “But do not forget, in the end, after everything, you did the right thing. You came back.”

Anakin gave a derisive snort, but Obi Wan pushed on, turning his head to keep direct eye contact. “And if I have learned anything at all from our long, complicated past, it is this. We can be influenced by a multitude of outside forces, but our choices, our actions, are ultimately ours and ours alone. You were responsible for your own Fall, just as Ben Solo was for his. This wasn’t your fault, Anakin.”

Anakin averted his eyes. “I think we’ve had this conversation before.”

“And we’ll have it again and again until it sinks in,” Obi Wan said pleasantly. 

Anakin elbowed him. _Stubborn bastard…_ Deep down part of him was telling him Obi Wan was right, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to blame himself. He couldn’t not. 

They sat there a moment longer before Anakin shifted. “I should go back to watching BB-8. He’s alone in the desert, I should’ve been back earlier.”

Obi Wan rose with him. “Do you want me to come with you? Or would you mind if I kept an eye on Ren? I would like to know what happens to Poe.”

“You should stay with Poe.” Anakin said. “I’ve got a feeling.”

Obi Wan raised an eyebrow. “Not a bad feeling?”

Anakin stuck a finger at him. “Don’t you say that. No jinxing. Just a regular feeling that we should be keeping an eye on.”

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “I’ll let you know if anything important happens. Have fun in the sand.”

_“Excuse you—”_

With a jaunty salute, Obi Wan whirled away into the Force. 

Anakin spent an indignant second glowering at the empty space before focusing on the image of the little droid puttering its way across the desert and leaned back into the buzzing embrace as he felt space shift around him.

As he materialized again, he was met with the familiar white-hot glare of the desert sun reflecting off the dunes, the smell of baked sand on the wind, and from a distance, a high-pitched electronic squeal of protest. 

“Kriff,” Anakin swore, sprinting towards the source of the commotion and cursing himself for leaving BB. 

Droids and the desert didn’t mix. 

_People_ and the desert didn’t mix. 

Well, Anakin definitely didn’t. 

Fucking sand. 

Upon reaching the crest of the nearest dune, he cursed again at the sight of BB-8 struggling in the net of a determined Teedo, who was trying to secure the little astromech to their Luggabeast. 

“ _Piss off,_ ” Anakin snarled at the Teedo in Huttese reflexively, never mind that even if the lousy junker thief could see him, it was the wrong language. 

Anakin knew this type— a vulnerable little boy lugging around machine parts worth a decent amount of credits made an appealing target in the Mos Espa markets; he was more than used to sentients who thought they could muscle their way into taking whatever shiny thing caught their eye. Half the time strong language and a warning that stealing goods from a slave meant the wrath of the master would get them off his back, but Anakin had made equally good use of an electro-driver in his belt the other times when his “no” was not listened to. 

BB whistled a truly filthy insult in Binary at the Teedo and Anakin was steadily feeling more and more useless when an angry cry came from behind them.

“ _Tal'ama parqual!_ ”

Anakin whipped around to see a young woman charging down the dunes at them, yelling in Teedospeak and waving a quarterstaff. He got a look at deep brown eyes and tattered clothing and _whoa…_

The most blinding Force signature he had seen in his life— er, existence.

A golden halo of brightness surrounded the girl, flaring desert-hot and wild as a sandstorm, the pure _brightness_ of her like that of a black hole, threatening to suck everything in her path in. 

Anakin hadn’t seen a signature that bright since— no, not Ben. Ben’s signature had been blinding too, but there had always, even when he was younger, been that hint of shadow, that worry of unease, a small cavity gradually growing. 

No, Anakin’s heart twisted painfully, this girl’s signature reminded him of Luke. Not the sad, tired old man asleep by the ocean. The young man, the rebel, burning with the light of youth and righteousness, the eagerness to fulfill his father's legacy.

_You killed my father!_

_I’ve killed a great many fathers… ___

Anakin brushed aside that memory— Force, he had been such an _ass_ —and focused back on the young woman. After an angry exchange in Teedospeak, she had sent the rider and Luggabeast on their way, BB trilling angrily at their backs before being shushed by the girl as she told him not to mind the Teedo.

“Your antenna’s bent,” she added, kneeling to fix it. 

So she was kind to droids, didn’t seem to want to sell BB. Anakin tentatively decided like her, though he was definitely still curious. Her accent, though tinted with a hint of Outer Rim roughness, was Core. Who was this girl who shone, and what was she doing out on this shithole planet?

As she conversed with the droid, Anakin appreciated both BB’s sense of secrecy and the girl’s lack of prying. He frowned though, as she began to send the astromech on his way. The droid really shouldn’t be wandering around by himself. 

As BB warbled at her plaintively when she once again shooed him off, Anakin decided to try something. 

Gathering the Force around him, he pressed in close to her. “You know he won’t make it by himself,” he urged, using every ounce of Force persuasion he had. 

Dammit, this was Obi Wan’s thing. Shit, she was so bright _he_ couldn’t even make it through, and Anakin was _very_ hard to ignore. 

He shouldn’t have worried. Her hard brown gaze softened on its own and she relented, allowing the droid to stay with her, if only until morning.

Anakin began to relax as the two trundled away, only to freeze as the girl stopped abruptly and turned to stare directly where Anakin was. 

Anakin most certainly did _not_ yelp in surprise. He had tried to influence her, yes, but he hadn’t made his actual presence known. He was still behind a layer of Force veil separating him from the living world; there was no way she should be able to see him. 

Still, he withdrew into the Force a bit as her angry gaze, hard as river stones, swept over him, hands gripping the staff threateningly. Sharp tendrils from an untrained mind shot out and probed at the space around him. 

_How in the hells is she so strong?_

BB bleeped at her. _”What’s wrong?”_

The mind retreated and the young woman shook herself out of her stupor. “Nothing. Just checking the area. Lots of things out there that are more trouble than Teedo. Don’t worry about it.”

Anakin relaxed as the two started moving, tailing them from a distance as the girl would occasionally cast a suspicious glance over her shoulder in his direction. 

He couldn’t wait to tell Obi Wan.

* * * 

Obi Wan was not having a good day.

_I’m better off than Dameron…_ he thought ruefully to himself as he looked worriedly on Poe’s beaten and bruised face. 

He had done a remarkable job holding out on the standard interrogation techniques, and clearly Leia had trained him well as not even the probe droid had gotten a word out of him. Problem was, that left the First Order with one option left: Kylo Ren. 

Obi Wan shivered as the dark presence approached Poe’s cell. He knew Force-powered mind probes better than almost anyone, having been on the receiving as well as, unfortunately, the giving end of the process— 

_(The Clone Wars had changed everything…)_

—and, he thought with a wince as Ren swept into the room, Darksiders weren’t exactly particular to being gentle. 

Non-Force sensitives never stood a chance against it. 

Obi Wan tried his best to transfer some of his own energy to surround and protect the prisoner as Poe and Ren exchanged a brief series of ripostes. 

It did nothing, he reluctantly acknowledged as Ren extended his hand and Poe began screaming. Obi Wan didn’t have the power; maybe if Anakin was here, with that strange way the Force seemed to respond to him… 

But Anakin wasn’t here, and all Obi Wan could do was watch as Ren kept up his onslaught. 

* * * 

“Don't give up. He still might show up. Whoever it is you're waiting for. Classified. I know all about waiting.” the girl who had introduced herself to the droid as Rey was saying.

“Waiting, huh? Anakin murmured. Maybe finally he’d get some answers to this kid. The time Anakin had seen her and BB spend in the converted AT-AT had painted the picture of a lonely desert child who had lived by herself off of the scavenged parts seen around it for a long, long time. The mystery was driving Anakin crazy.

He raised an eyebrow as she talked of her family who had left her here, but would be back, apparently. He didn’t know what sort of shitty family would leave their kid by herself in one of the galaxy’s most nauseous of armpits, but he knew that he didn’t like them and that they definitely didn’t deserve Rey’s high opinion. 

Then again, who knew dysfunctional families better than a Skywalker? Maybe there was more to the story.

Five minutes later Anakin was once again cursing desert planets and everything that lived on them as the junk trader sneered down at Rey’s offered parts. Ugly sleemo trying to keep his power by karking over everyone else, Anakin knew exactly where the fucker could shove his portions.

“Those are worth five times what he’s offering,” Anakin told Rey furiously, nodding in approval as she protested the deal. Both ghost and girl froze when the trader’s greedy eyes landed on the BB droid.

“What about the droid?”

“No…” Anakin started, heart dropping as the trader dumped a pile of sixty portions onto the counter as trade. He saw the yearning look of hunger in Rey’s eyes. She had probably never seen that much food in her entire life. The way she was living now, she would be an idiot to refuse, and Anakin honestly wouldn’t be able to blame her.

(No, that was wrong. Anakin had spent twenty five years as basically a professional grudge-holder inside a giant black murder robot. He’d at least be bitter.)

BB burbled uneasily and Anakin started thinking on how to find some way to break the droid out of the scrapyard when Rey’s voice rose up. “Actually, the droid’s not for sale.” 

That was it. Anakin was adopting her. Her parents obviously didn’t value her and he would make sure she didn’t lose any limbs. It would be perfect.

“C’mon,” Rey told BB, turning her back on the portions and walking away with the meager portions for her scraps.

Anakin moved to follow him, when a snarl sounded behind him. He turned back to see the trader glowering at Rey and BB, and a feeling of unease rose inside him. Moving in closer, Anakin watched as the blob of a man picked up a commlink and demanded that Rey be followed and the droid captured.

_He wouldn’t want that droid so badly under normal circumstances. The First Order must have gotten the map’s location out of Dameron and put a bounty out,_ Anakin thought furiously. _The Empire didn’t work that fast and we ran a tighter ship— not that that was a good thing…_ he amended hastily. 

_Young people and their neo-fascist regimes. Always rushing things!_

Anakin hurried off after Rey and BB. Obi Wan was keeping an eye on Ben, he’d let him know if BB was in direct danger. And maybe, he pondered as Rey shot yet another look over her shoulder, he’d be able to warn someone this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: the "I've killed many fathers line" is canon from the _Darth Vader_ comics where Luke and Vader run into each other before Bespin when neither knows who they are to each other. Luke accuses Vader of killing his dad and our fave Shit Lord pulls that asshole line. He's awful I love him.
> 
> Yes event tho therapy is still not a thing for them our bois are gonna at least heckin talk things over, they've learned that much being dead. So have some snuggles at the beginning! 
> 
> Also, I have a very specific headcannon for Rey and why she is like she is and I'm sticking to it until Ep. 9 proves me otherwise. 
> 
> I also have a very specific way that Force ghosts can use their powers and that will be revealed as the story progresses!
> 
> Please send comments, I require sustenance to function.


	4. Escapes, Ship Crashes, Explosions, and No One Listens to Obi Wan (or, Business as Usual)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, for an early Christmas present, my laptop broke, yay! I just got it back and to make up for the wait here's an extra long chapter! (Is it mainly because I couldn't figure out where to cut the scene? Maybe, you're welcome anyway.)

Obi Wan was hovering around Poe’s battered form feeling absolutely useless when suddenly, the cell door swished open, a Stormtrooper entering. 

“Well hello,” Obi Wan murmured, catching the waves of nervousness, a hint of guilt, and an underlying steel of determination radiating off the trooper in waves. Something was off.

“Ren wants the prisoner,” the trooper told the cell guard. 

Obi Wan tensed. They had already gotten the information they needed out of Poe; they wouldn’t have much other reason to keep him alive. The ghost hovered anxiously as the guard freed Poe and handed him over to the trooper who hustled him out of the cell at blasterpoint. 

_Wait,_ Obi Wan remembered suddenly. _Isn’t Ren in his rooms right now?_

And though he wasn’t overly familiar with the layout of the _Finalizer_ , Obi Wan was fairly sure this trooper was currently leading Poe in the _opposite_ direction of Ren’s quarters. Something was most certainly off.

As if to emphasize the point, the trooper suddenly yanked Poe around a corner off the main hallway. 

_Well that’s not good…_ Obi Wan thought. Hurrying after them, he caught them a couple paces down a narrow passageway as— _nope, definitely not good_ —the trooper pressed Poe to the wall.

“Listen carefully. You do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here.” the trooper declared. 

Obi Wan froze. “Beg pardon?” 

Poe seemed to be on his track of mind. “If— what?”

The trooper pulled off their helmet to reveal a man who couldn’t be much older than Anakin when he Fell. “This is a rescue, I'm helping you escape,” he told Poe. “Can you fly a TIE fighter?”

Obi Wan let out a harsh breath of relief. “Oh thank the Force. Go with him Poe, beggars can’t be choosers.”

“You with the Resistance?” Poe asked suspiciously.

“Worry about that later,” Obi Wan urged him as the other man spluttered a denial, insisting he was just helping him escape. “Get going before you get caught!”

“I can fly anything,” Poe said, all confidence, no bluster. Anakin could take a page out of his book. “Why are you helping me?”

The young man looked Poe directly in the eye with an earnest expression. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

A small smile spread across Obi Wan’s face. A little uncertain, clearly very nervous, but this man was a good sort. He shone brightly in the Force and he reminded Obi Wan more than a bit of Luke.

Poe’s lips quirked. “You need a pilot.”

The young man gave a stressed huff. “I need a pilot.”

Poe met him with an honest grin that meant nothing but trouble. “We’re gonna do this.”

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “ _Marvelous._ Now if we could move it along, please? First rule of escape, loitering leads to recapture!”

* * * 

“Okay, stay calm, stay calm,” Poe’s rescuer was muttering.

Obi Wan sighed, trying to project a calming aura around the young man in the middle of a mild freakout. Defecting had to be the most terrifying thing in the galaxy to a kidnapped, brainwashed child soldier, and the most difficult part of the escape hadn’t even happened yet. 

_Where’s Yoda when you need him? Doesn’t he know how to blow things up with lightning? An explosion would be an excellent diversion…_ Obi Wan mused to himself. 

_And now I’m thinking like Anakin, fantastic. Always needed his pyromania to rub off on me._

Obi Wan shook his head as he followed the two men, squashing the annoying little voice inside him that pointed out that things usually tended to explode around him whether his partner was there or not.

The rescue group made their way up the stairs into a two-man TIE, Obi Wan stopping in horror as the two living men opened the top. “Well, kriff. I’m going to have to fly with you, aren’t I?” He stuck his head through the hatch. And there really didn’t seem to be much room for more than two people, how wonderful. 

Now, he had known that short of crashing the entire Star Destroyer planetside (been there, done that, do _not_ recommend), the only means of escape would be on some ship or another. 

_I was just hoping for something a little… bigger,_ Obi Wan thought, swearing under his breath as he dropped inside. 

Catching the slightly manic look on Poe’s face as he excitedly started up the ship, Obi Wan quickly retreated over to the other side of the pod, awkwardly positioning himself in the space above the deserter’s lap in the gunner’s seat. “Sorry, friend. Limited seating, you must understand.”

The man ignored him, obviously, loudly answering to Poe over the rumbling of the fighter powering up that he knew how to fire blasters.

“Same principal!” Poe called back. “Use the toggle on the left to switch between missiles, cannons, and mag pulse—“

The other man’s eyes widened under the onslaught of information, staring dazedly at the targeting controls. Obi Wan facepalmed. Pilots, _honestly._ All of them were truly cut from the same ston—

“Shit!” 

The TIE lurched forward only to jerk to a halt, seemingly stopped by something attached on the outside. 

Obi Wan, obviously unable to strap himself in, had been sent flying into Poe’s half, steadying himself to find the pilot rapidly pressing buttons on the dashboard. 

“I can fix this!” Poe assured his rescuer, eyes gleaming with that light that said _I’m a kickass pilot and I know it which means I’m way too bullheaded to not make extremely stupid or risky decisions and drag whatever unfortunate bastard’s riding with me along because I always get out mostly alive, never mind who or what gets banged up/destroyed in the process._

As someone who had spent over a decade flying with Anakin Skywalker, that look immediately activated Obi Wan’s fight-or-flight response. 

The TIE, however, seemed unable to do either as Poe made it buck to and fro, trying to disengage the ship from whatever was holding them back.

No wait, the former trooper had started firing on the people in the hangar who had figured out their escape, hitting other ships and weaponry, causing them to go up in flames.

 _See, explosions are good!_ Obi Wan heard the little voice in his head say. He swatted it away irritably.

Finally, “I got it!” Poe yelled, punching the throttle and sending the TIE fighter blasting out of the hangar and into space. 

Obi Wan felt his stomach turn slightly at the high speed. This was his own fault, he scolded himself as he slipped back to where the other man was. He hadn’t done ghostly tag-a-longs in fighters since Luke’s air battles back in the Rebellion.

_Fuck, I hate flying._

Poe was as good a pilot as he said, though, the fighter bobbing and weaving with ease as it maneuvered to take out the anti-spacecraft cannons and enemy fighters. Obi Wan was relieved to see the deserter’s confidence growing with every successful shot he made, whooping in excitement and Poe cheering back.

And then Poe asked him his name. 

“FN-2187,” the ex-trooper replied. Obi Wan frowned. Poe was surprised, stumbling over the letters. “FN-what??”

“That’s the only name they ever gave me,” the apparent FN-2187 defended, and Poe’s face darkened. Obi Wan couldn’t agree more. The First Order had stolen millions of children from their families, raised them to be mindless cannon fodder, and hadn’t even allowed them to have their own damn name. It was sickening.

“Well I ain’t using it!” Poe declared. His eyes narrowed. “FN, huh?” A pause. “…Finn,” Poe decided. “I’m gonna call you Finn, that alright?”

FN-2187’s— _Finn’s_ face lit up with a dazzling smile, repeating the name and happily voicing his assent. 

Obi Wan felt a surge of affection for the both of them. Poe had just given Finn a great gift, the beginnings of a new identity, a new life. Obi Wan hoped they were able to escape so Finn could see what else life had denied him. A tiny part of him was reminded of the clones from so long ago, the specialness and pride of the moment a fresh trooper found his true name. Their eager grins weren’t very different than Finn’s, he realized with a pang.

An volley of acid green blasts suddenly appeared way too close to the TIE for comfort and Poe veered the fighter around, dodging through the debris and heading back towards Jakku. _Right, Luke’s map. Thank the Force he hasn’t forgotten._

After tagging another fighter, Finn looked up in alarm. “Where are you going?” he demanded. Obi Wan watched in concern as Finn and Poe argued about returning to Jakku, Poe insisting over Finn’s protests that he needed to go back for his droid. 

“That droid’s got a map that leads straight to Luke Skywalker,” Poe snapped, and Obi Wan winced. “There goes the secret mission, then. Careful, Dameron.”

Finn barely had time to respond before the ship suddenly went whirling with the impact of a cannon blast, spiraling down towards the surface of Jakku. 

Of course, of _course_ the flight would end with a crash landing, Obi Wan thought near hysterically as things promptly went to even deeper shit.

* * *

Obi Wan woke up only to shut his eyes again at the bright glare that nearly blinded him. Opening them again slowly, he eased himself upwards, wincing at the ache in his muscles as he looked around. Well, this wasn’t very good.

The whole landing could be described, putting things lightly, as “not very good”. After barely keeping from burning up in the atmosphere, Poe had instructed Finn how to find the button for the seat eject without telling him it was for ejection. After Finn’s abrupt exit, Obi Wan had been forced to remain inside the pod with Poe, whose own seat’s ejector was, of course, not being cooperative. Obi Wan had reached out into the Force and gathered it to wrap around the pod, hoping to shield Poe’s landing if only a little bit. 

Though a ghost could manipulate the Force to some degree (never mind they weren’t exactly supposed to…), the energy required to do so was drained from the ghost themself, and the amount available for usage was finite. Overexertion led to temporary loss of your physical form as you were sent back into the deepest webs of the Force Itself to regain your strength, not unlike a droid recharging. 

Such was what had happened to Obi Wan when at the last minute— because of course —Poe’s seat finally deployed and the ship went slamming into the ground and tumbling a good couple of meters.

Now that he had awoken, Obi Wan could see by the sun’s position in the sky that he had been gone for only a short bit, but enough that it was now mid-afternoon. Breathing from his side revealed he had rematerialized next to where Poe Dameron had landed. 

The pilot had been flung free from the straps holding him to his seat on impact and sent rolling down a sand dune. There was blood sluggishly trailing down his face from a cut at his hairline that upon closer inspection seemed thankfully shallow and non-life threatening. 

Of course, a concussion was something to be worried about, but what was more visually concerning was the awkward angle Poe’s arm was at. He was on his back, full sun bearing down on his form, which was not good in terms of harmful radiation or heat. Somehow, he’d managed to lose his jacket in the mayhem. 

Obi Wan had lived alone in the desert for nineteen years. This was not a good situation for Poe to be in at all, and Obi Wan was still recovering his own energy and wasn’t in any shape to provide any sort of healing (which was definitely Not Allowed anyway). Finn could maybe—

_Finn!_

Obi Wan focused on Finn’s face as he faded out and back. Thankfully, upon arrival he found Finn slumped in the seat he had ejected in and the ominous black cloud of smoke that had worried him billowing over another dune. He didn’t appear to be hurt, and when Obi Wan prodded at Finn’s consciousness in hopes of waking him, he got an answering spark near immediately. 

Finn’s eyelids fluttered, forehead creasing into a frown as he stirred, before suddenly waking with a start. As he scrambled to his feet, already zeroing in on the black cloud of smoke, he ran towards it. 

Obi Wan followed, hoping he’d be able to guide him to Poe, but, “Wait, _shit,_ no Finn, no he’s not in there!” 

Of course, Finn didn’t hear him and continued scurrying around on top of the bloody _quicksand_ , ducking into pieces of the crashed TIE and yelling Poe’s name. 

Obi Wan was still very tired and already very fond of this troubled young man and did not want to see him swallowed by sand today, thank you, so with a massive effort, he willed Finn to notice the ominous groaning of metal as the ship began to start sinking. 

Finn seemed to finally get it, crying out and scrambling away from the sinking fighter while clutching a brown piece of fabric as he distanced himself, desperately calling for Poe all the while. 

“He isn’t there, he’s not dead— yet, but you must go find him before he is!” Obi Wan told him as Finn watched the ship sink, gaping with horror. 

As the last point of the TIE disappeared into the maw of sand, Obi Wan paused from his urging, staring at the spot where the fighter had been. “That’s weird,” he said absentmindedly. “They usually blow up.”

The ship promptly blew up.

Moving his arms from where they had reflexively sprung up to shield his face from the spew of sand and debris, Obi Wan caught the devastated look on Finn’s face and groaned in exasperation. “For the love of the Force, why can’t they listen? He’s alive, Finn!” 

Finn stood there staring blankly at the spot where the explosion was for a while, forehead already glistening with sweat from the sun beating down on him, before turning around and trudging off. 

In the wrong direction.

“Finn,” Obi Wan began quietly, trying very hard not to yell, not that it would make any difference. “You are going the _wrong way_. Poe could have ejected, could have been flung from the ship! Didn’t they teach you how to search a crash site?!” Not for search and rescue, of course, the First Order didn’t rescue anyone, but at least how to hunt down targets?

Finn kept on walking, putting the brown fabric over his head to try and shield himself from the harsh light above, and Obi Wan noticed at the moment that it was Poe’s missing jacket. It was obvious from the way Finn stopped and paused at the top of the first dune that he had no clue where he was going. 

(Neither did Obi Wan but he was already dead; getting lost in the desert without food, water, or shelter would just be dreadfully boring for him. Finn would most certainly die.)

Obi Wan huffed, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He could go back and watch Poe, he pondered, wait for him to wake up and then hope that maybe he listened better than Finn did. 

No, he didn’t know how long that would take, and even if he could influence Poe to go the right way, all the desert needed was a little wind to erase Finn’s footprints and they would have no clue how to find him. 

He could find Anakin, see where BB-8 was— presumably still on Jakku and not in imminent danger as his former apprentice hadn’t appeared in a panic to tell him otherwise. 

But what then? He certainly couldn’t influence a droid to show it where its master had gone. 

Or, he could follow Finn, try to guide him on how to survive the desert, make sure he at least found shelter as it didn’t seem he was going to find Poe, then go back and make sure Poe was alright and with Anakin’s help reunite him with BB-8. He was a trained Resistance operative, he knew how to survive.

_Assuming he wakes up…_

Poe would wake up, Obi Wan told himself as he briefly phased back to where Poe still lay out cold, ignoring how incredibly wrong this was as he summoned his strength to hastily drag the parachute over Poe’s body— he could still breathe, it would be fine —to shield him from the sun and the sand as well as hopefully anyone passing through who might notice a body in the middle of the desert.

“Just, stay there,” Obi Wan said to him. “Or don’t, actually; it would be much better if you got up and moved, so if you could work on that? Anyway, point is, I’ll come find you, so stay out of trouble. Understood?” 

Under the chute, Poe said nothing. 

“Right,” Obi Wan nodded. 

Now, off to make sure Finn didn’t die. 

His lip curled as a gust of wind sent sand grains swirling around him, bringing back memories of his years in the Wastes. He hoped this planet didn’t have an equivalent to Sand People... 

Dreary desert or not, he continued to himself as he popped up behind Finn again, at least he wasn’t flying anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, our ghost boys are still separated this chapter, sorry! And I realized I just put them both through what fandom likes to joke about them hating most; Anakin is stuck on Sand World and Obi Wan has to deal with flying (and crashing). This wasn't even my intention but I still find it amusing. Apologies again for the wait, and pretty please leave me some comments if you like it, they're my life's blood!


	5. is it still running for your life if you’re already dead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A speedy update! And it’s long too!!! I’m proud of me!!!! Anyway, here’s our boys getting back together and with extra banter to make up for separating them for two chapters!

Finn looked dangerously close to passing out from exhaustion, dehydration, heat stroke, or a combination of the above, and Obi Wan was still not completely sure he was headed towards help of any sorts. 

He did feel a slight pull in the direction Finn was trekking in, though that could also mean they were getting closer to Anakin, which was a major positive if he was still with BB-8, but wouldn’t do much in terms of keeping Finn from passing out.

Obi Wan was sick of finding young men passed out in the desert. Poe and Finn most recently, Luke multiple times during all those years of getting into trouble on Tatooine, one Ezra Bridger during what Obi Wan liked to refer to as The (hopefully) Final Maul Incident, and probably Anakin at some point or another, he tended to pass out in inconvenient places. He would very much prefer Finn remaining conscious, as there was not much he could do about things otherwise. 

Maybe, just maybe, the Force had finally decided to listen to Obi Wan because as Finn reached the crest of the next giant dune, the greyish smudge of civilization spreading out over the valley below glowed with the light of the Living Force. Finn’s shoulders slumped in relief as he squinted to make sure it was real and not a trick of the desert. 

“Don’t waste your energy just standing there,” Obi Wan prodded. “It’s still a distance away; you need to keep moving, Finn. Just a little further.”

* * *  
Hours later, Finn staggered into the small desert tent city, panting, dehydrated, and more than a bit sun-touched, but still alive. 

Obi Wan allowed himself to relax as Finn rushed off in search of water. Finn would probably be fine for the moment, now he should really go back and check on Poe… 

_…Or maybe that can wait,_ he amended hastily at the unexpected presence of an achingly familiar, supernova-bright Force signature brushing up against his in surprise, then reaching out to twine with his happily upon recognition.

“Obi Wan!”

“Oomph!” Obi Wan found the air knocked out of him as his arms were suddenly filled with an anxious Anakin. 

“There you are, Master!” Anakin exclaimed, squeezing his forearms. “What’s wrong? Is Poe-?”

“Poe’s fine,” Obi Wan assured him, pausing. “Mostly.”

Anakin’s eyes narrowed. “Mostly?”

Obi Wan opened his mouth before deflating slightly at Anakin’s flat _Don’t banthashit me_ expression that he had to have picked up from his master. “He escaped the First Order, but as of now he’s currently passed out in the middle of the desert with a head wound.”

Anakin gave him a look of incredulity. “And you _left_ him there?”

“I left the parachute over him!” Obi Wan defended, cringing near immediately at how bad that sounded.

“ _Parachute?_ What in the Sith hells happened?”

“Our TIE crashed and—“

“Wait, Poe stole a TIE?”

“Oh yes, and he flies almost as crazily as you do, you would have loved it.”

“I wouldn’t have crashed.”

“You always crash!”

“I do _not_ —“

“ _Anyway,_ ” Obi Wan continued hastily. “I needed to make sure Finn was safe.”

Anakin waved his arms in exasperation. “Who is Finn?!”

“A stormtrooper— _Let me finish_ —who deserted to help break out Poe!” Obi Wan explained. “He got separated from Poe in the crash and I couldn’t leave him to die in the desert.”

“He’s trustworthy?” Anakin asked suspiciously. Deserters had different reasons for doing what they did; not all of them were good ones and some could be desperate.

Obi Wan nodded. “I trust he means no harm. Could you keep an eye on him for a second while I check to make sure Poe’s alright?”

Anakin shook his head. “I can’t, I need to watch—“ He suddenly tensed in alarm, sensing trouble Obi Wan wasn’t attuned to. “Kriff, _Rey!_ ” He took off.

“Ray? Ray of what?” Obi Wan called after him in confusion, sprinting to catch up.

“Rey of—? No, Rey’s a person!” Anakin said hurriedly as they made their way towards the sounds of a commotion. “She found BB, and I think she’s in danger.”

They burst through another tent to discover one young woman struggling against two large thugs trying to get what seemed to be a sack over a droid Obi Wan briefly recognized as BB before—

“Holy _shit,_ ” he murmured, reeling slightly as beside him Anakin swore in Huttese, clenching his fists and wishing he could help Rey fight the goons off. 

Obi Wan was still staring openly at the most stunningly intense flame of a Force signature he had seen since the one standing next to him. 

“C’mon, you got this,” Anakin urged as Rey bit and snarled like a cornered animal, pumping his fist in the air with a “Yes!” as she whipped out her quarterstaff and proceeded to lay both sentients out on their backs. 

Obi Wan gave a hum of approval. “She’s not trained?” 

“Not any kind of training I’d know,” Anakin answered, watching as Rey got the sack off of BB. The little droid seemed to look around nervously, before focusing in one direction and starting to beep frantically. 

Anakin frowned. “Someone stole Poe’s jacket?

Rey was also following BB’s warbling. “Who? Him?” 

She turned to glare at a young man with cropped hair who seemed to be watching them warily and did appear to be wearing what looked like Poe’s jacket. Upon noticing her gaze on him, he started, then bolted as Rey bared her teeth and charged at him.

Obi Wan sighed, “Oh dear,” and Anakin knew. 

“That’s Finn?”

“Yep.” 

“Right.” The two of them took off after the pair, skidding to a halt to find Finn on his back with Rey menacing him with her staff. 

“Angry and likes to help droids,” Obi Wan commented, wincing as BB shocked Finn with a prodder. “I can see why you like her.” 

“Hey, she’s trying to help,” Anakin retorted as Finn yelped, protesting the abuse. Rey shot back that he stole the jacket. 

“I think Finn can help too, if they let him explain,” Obi Wan responded as Finn tried to defend himself only to get zapped again. Rey demanded Finn explain where he found the jacket belonging to BB’s master.

Finn hesitated, and Anakin watched him closely. “He gonna tell her what happened?” 

After a couple of seconds, Finn wilted slightly, admitting that it belonged to Poe Dameron and telling them the sad tale of how he managed to get it, and Anakin nodded, impressed. 

As BB drooped in sadness, Anakin elbowed Obi Wan. “You should really go check on Poe. You sure he’s okay?” 

“In a bit. He’ll be fine.” Obi Wan told him, watching Rey and Finn regard each other in a new light.

Eventually, Rey broke the silence. “So you’re with the Resistance?”

Anakin couldn’t help but snort at Finn’s panicked look, gears visibly turning behind his eyes. “Oh, this’ll be interesting.”

“Obviously,” Finn managed eventually, all wide eyed faux-honesty. “Yes, I am. I am _with the Resistance._ Yeah.” 

Obi Wan chuckled. “Oh, poor thing. Anakin look, he lies worse than you do.”

Anakin bristled. “I’m not a bad liar!” 

“Of course not,” Obi Wan smiled pityingly at him, patting his cheek twice before Anakin ducked his hand irritably. “I’m not! Besides, Rey seems to be believing him.”

Obi Wan’s mouth twitched as they saw Rey cautiously let Finn up. “I may have just met her, but something tells me Rey isn’t exactly the paragon of interpersonal relations knowledge. Honestly, look at him!” He winced as Finn said, absolutely straight-faced, “Well, this is what we look like.”

“Ouch.”

“Some of us.”

“Oh, he’s not done…”

“Others look different.”

“Do quit while you’re behind, Finn, I beg you.”

Anakin elbowed him. “Be nice, Obi Wan— did he just tell her about Luke? Why does he know about Luke?! Did the First Order—“

“It’s not that bad,” Obi Wan assured him. “Poe let it slip to him while they were flying, which is still bad, but no one else knows besides him and Finn.”

“Well now _Rey_ knows, and either of them could tell anyone!” Anakin shot back. “What was Poe thinking?”

“Now don’t panic— wait, where are they going?” Both ghosts looked up from their argument to see Finn take Rey’s hand and start running towards a tent, BB right on their heels. 

Anakin stiffened. “Damn it. Stormtroopers, 4 o’clock.”

Obi Wan whipped around just in time to see white armor raising a blaster in the direction Finn and Rey went. “Look out!”

Anakin was already moving, headed for their unknowing charges and ducking reflexively as the blaster shot went over his head to ping the cleaning unit next to Rey. Obi Wan followed, cursing. “How in the Force’s name didn’t we sense them?”

“Don’t know,” Anakin said, choosing to run straight through an old woman rather than around her to catch up. “I blame Rey being so strong she blocked them.”

“So you noticed her aura too?” Obi Wan asked, quirking an eyebrow as the group briefly stopped for Rey to snarl at Finn to let go of her hand. “It’s interesting indeed, where _did_ you find her?”

“Living by herself in an abandoned walker, scrapping old starships to survive.” Anakin responded as they started moving again, Rey in the lead this time. 

“She lives here?” Obi Wan clarified. 

Anakin nodded. “Doesn’t sound like it, does she? Family abandoned her for some reason, don’t know why. Force, but she’s so _bright_ , Master.” 

Obi Wan huffed out a laugh as they all crouched to hide in a stall, Finn searching frantically for a weapon. “I’m used to shiny desert dwellers who overwhelm everything in their paths with their light. It’s funny that you wouldn’t be, I didn’t expect that.” 

Anakin stared at him quizzically for a moment before rearing back in realized outrage. “ _Shiny?_ ”

Obi Wan shushed him. “Very shiny. Now hush, I hear something.” 

Finn too had stopped his bickering with Rey to cock his head and listen intently, signaling for silence. Anakin had begun to listen too, eyes widening in horror as he recognized the sound seconds before Finn did. 

“Airstrike.” Obi Wan breathed. 

“ _Run,_ ” Anakin told the living duo. Finn seemed to get his message better than he had Obi Wan’s, grabbing Rey’s hand again, to her annoyance, and dragging them away.

From behind them, two TIEs came screaming into view, headed directly for Rey and Finn. The Force called a warning and Obi Wan had a second to see Anakin leaping practically on top of the pair before he was hitting the ground as an explosion sent a shockwave of rock and sand their way. 

As Obi Wan shielded himself— yes, he knew he was dead, thank you, he was able to sense two other shields being thrown, one practiced and familiar, the other instinctive and unstable. Leaping back to his feet, warrior’s instinct subconsciously self-checking for injury, he looked to where his companions had fallen. 

Rey appeared to have been the other shield that had protected herself, easily rolling over and sitting up in alarm. She paled at the sight of Finn sprawled unconscious next to her— and there went all of Obi Wan’s earlier efforts to keep him from passing out, damn it —with Anakin hovered over him nervously. 

“He’s just stunned,” Anakin told Obi Wan’s worried face. “I covered him best I could.”

He would have done more but it had all happened so fast, he was just glad he’d been able to spare Finn the brunt of it. “He needs to _wake up_ though.”

Turns out ghostly urging on Anakin’s part wasn’t even necessary; as Rey’s worried “Hey,” washed over Finn like a wave, he responded near instantly, coming to and squinting at her in concern. “Are you okay?”

Rey visibly melted a little. “Yeah.” she breathed. 

“Aww,” said Anakin. 

Rey extended her hand to Finn. “Oh, that is sweet.” Obi Wan commented despite himself. 

“Follow me,” Rey told Finn as he brightened and clasped her hand, getting up. As he started to run after them again, Obi Wan was halted by a hand in front of him. “What-?” 

Anakin was holding out his own hand to him, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Everyone’s holding hands for protection now,” he explained. “You need to hold mine, it’s the rules.” 

Despite his attempts to keep a straight face, Obi Wan felt his mouth curving into a smile. “Oh, is it now?” 

“Yup!” Anakin nodded happily, the Force humming warmly around him. “I’ll keep you safe, Master. Promise.”

Obi Wan did laugh now, placing his fingers lightly over Anakin’s, who closed his in a easy grip near immediately. “Well, we can’t go breaking the rules, now can we?” 

Anakin shot him another dazzling grin. “Damn straight.” Obi Wan squeezed his partner’s fingers comfortingly in response and they were off, hand in hand.

As they rushed to catch up, Obi Wan quirked his head. “Is that a spaceport? It would be better if they got off planet.” 

“I’m surprised this shitheap has a spaceport,” Anakin grumbled. “All the ships here are little better than…” 

“Anakin?” Obi Wan asked as the younger man trailed off, staring at something in the distance. Rey and Finn still had some distance to reach the ships and the TIEs were hot on their tails, but Anakin was still staring at the ships visible, seeming to have spotted something. “No _fucking way._ ”

“What is it?” Rather than answering Obi Wan, Anakin materialized them, landing them among the ships next to a covered freighter. He stared up at the old ship with something resembling fondness, and Obi Wan was about to scold him for feeding his ship obsession at a time like this when something about it caught his attention. 

“Wait…” 

He shook his head, staring at the ship more closely. “ _No._ It can’t be!”

Anakin was beaming. “If I’m correct,” _and I usually am…_ “this here is a YT-1300 Corellian Light Freighter. The model’s been discontinued for decades and this ship itself is probably around ninety years old.” 

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “Not exactly the time for grandstanding right now. Is it really—?” 

“This particular freighter,” Anakin continued, gesticulating now and thoroughly enjoying himself, “is more commonly known as the _Millennium Falcon_.”

Obi Wan let out a snort, pushing auburn strands out of his face as he looked the ship over. “I can’t believe it. Are you sure?”

“I spent the last five years of my life trying to hunt it down and most of my afterlife watching my grandson being raised on it.” Anakin insisted, already itching with excitement at the prospect of flying. “I’d know the _Falcon_ anywhere.”

“You said ninety years though,” Obi Wan pressed. “And who knows how long it’s been sitting here since Han lost it? Will it still fly?”

The sound of explosions heralded Finn, Rey, and BB barreling into the shipyard, and Anakin shot him that pilot’s grin that would always scare Obi Wan more than Poe’s or anyone else’s ever could. “Guess we’re gonna find out, aren’t we? Hey guys!” He ran towards the fleeing group. “Over here! Found a ship!” 

Once again, Finn seemed to hear him, much to Obi Wan’s irritation. “How ‘bout that one?” Finn yelled to Rey, pointing to the _Falcon_. Rey shot it down immediately, only to retract her statement a second later when the TIEs literally shot the ship she was headed for. 

“I call shotgun!” Anakin declared as the living pair and the droid sprinted towards the _Falcon_ , more than a bit amused at the look of open dismay on Obi Wan’s face. “C’mon, old man,” he smirked, slinging his arm over his former master’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me your stomach can’t handle a little flying?” 

Obi Wan’s eyes narrowed and he turned and stepped into Anakin’s space. “If you don’t recall, I’ve already been in one ship crash today.” He poked a finger into Anakin’s chest. “And unlike _some people_ , I don’t get my thrills from constantly flirting with disaster when I see it.”

With that, he spun around and headed off towards the _Falcon’s_ boarding ramp, leaving Anakin gaping in incredulity behind him.

“Did you _seriously,_ ” Anakin began, “just try to tell me that _you don’t have a danger kink?_ You of all people?”

Obi Wan didn’t respond as he walked up the ramp. 

“Because if you did,” Anakin went on, chasing after him, “you’re a bigger liar than Finn is, and you know it!”

The ghosts got on just as the ramp closed and they could hear Rey directing Finn to the gunner’s seat. 

Obi Wan blinked. “Rey can fly?” 

“She better.” Anakin said as he headed for the cockpit. “You should go below and stay with Finn.” 

“This was the seating arrangement when we crash-landed!” Obi Wan shot back, headed down into the gunner’s seat anyway to find Finn struggling with the jostling seat, muttering encouragements to himself. Obi Wan sighed in resignation, settling for bracing his arms against the walls. “Well, it’s like they say, second time’s the charm, right?” 

Up in the cockpit, Anakin was swearing as Rey flipped switches. “There’s a compressor on the ignition line,” he told her tensely. “You need to bypass that to get out of here, you won’t be able to safely jump to lightspeed with that thing on it.” 

Rey’s eyes flickered briefly to where he was perched in the copilot’s seat, before her hand skimmed over the compressor and she frowned. Anakin was once again astounded at just how Force sensitive she was. But then the moment was over and Rey was chanting “I can do this—“

She pulled the yoke. 

The ship rumbled to life. 

Anakin let out a breath of relief. 

Obi Wan raised his voice. “Everything alright up there?” 

“Yeah,” Anakin called back as the _Falcon_ began to rise, Rey white-knuckled on the steering yoke. “We’ve got air. Now we just need to shake those bastards.”

“Right!” Obi Wan said, reflexively reaching for the gun himself before remembering that he was indeed dead, and this wasn’t him and Anakin flying a mission by the seat of their pants. 

At least Finn seemed to finally have a grip on the guns, getting his bearings before yelling for Rey to keep it low. Rey responded for a brief moment before the ship veered violently and Obi Wan once again found himself sent flying without a seat to sit in. 

“Woah, easy!” Anakin yelped as Rey let go of the steering yoke to grab for the copilot’s controls. He growled in frustration as his own absentminded grab went right through the controls and the ship tilted more. 

Rey finally reached the switches, moving something before going back to the yoke and stabilizing the _Falcon_.

“Okay, little hiccup, that’s fine. Now,” Anakin began. “Just try and gently—“ He was cut off as Rey shakily but correctly performed a complicated maneuver that left them tearing by the two TIEs, unfortunately not being able to dodge a passing shot that rocked the _Falcon_.

“Get your shields up!” Anakin snapped at Rey. “Hey, where the hell is Finn?” he shouted to Obi Wan at the same time Rey did to Finn with the same question. 

“It’s a little unsteady down here!” Obi Wan retorted as Finn replied much the same, adding an ask about the shields being up. 

“That’s what I _said_ ,” Anakin complained, subtly using the Force to tilt Rey’s pilot’s chair further towards the copilot’s seat so she could reach the controls easier.

Below, Obi Wan hung on for dear life as Finn tried to shoot the enemy fighters, missed, then called for cover.

“The ship graveyard’s around here, maybe we can loose these guys in there?” Anakin questioned Obi Wan, blinking as Rey either seemed to have the same idea or heard him again as she steered towards it. 

Obi Wan spluttered. “You’re expecting a freighter to be able to outmaneuver two advanced fighters in an enclosed area full of obstacles?!”

“I’ve been the one in the TIEs chasing the freighter before,” Anakin told him. “They angle well but they’re slow on direction change and they have way too many blind spots most pilots can’t keep track of. If the freighter has a good pilot, they can definitely outrun them with the right moves.”

“Is Rey a good enough pilot though?” Obi Wan responded, relaxing slightly as Finn finally hit one of the TIEs with a whoop. 

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Anakin replied, ignoring the uneasy twisting of his own gut. 

“It’s called realism— _kriff!_ ” Obi Wan swore as the gun was again jostled violently, this time jarring to a halt, picking himself back up off the floor only to see Finn frowning. 

“The cannon’s stuck in forward position!” 

Obi Wan sighed, brushing nonexistent dust off his tabards and headed to the _Falcon’s_ cockpit to have an actual seat. Not like he was being much help to Finn, anyways.

Anakin sunk his face into his hands. “The cannon? You have to be kidding me.” 

“I don’t suppose Rey knows many evasive maneuvers?” Obi Wan asked as he slid into the seat behind Anakin. 

“Rey’s just trying to keep control of the ship.” Anakin said, watching the look of panic on Rey’s face as the ship shook from another hit. 

They flew silently for a few more frantic seconds, and all of a sudden, Rey’s eyes narrowed, alight with determination. “Get ready!” she warned Finn, steering the ship directly towards— 

“No,” Anakin stated, hands gripping his seat. “She won’t.” 

Obi Wan was immediately concerned on what sort of flying scared _Anakin_. “Won’t what— oh, stars.” 

The _Falcon_ flew directly into the rear end of one of the downed Super Star Destroyers. 

Anakin’s voice was taut as a wire. “I hate this,” 

Obi Wan rounded on him disbelievingly. “ _You_ hate this?!” 

“I’m not the one flying!” Anakin shrieked. “I hate just sitting here and having to watch when I could _do this!_ ” 

Obi Wan’s hand shot out to grab the back of Anakin’s seat as the _Falcon_ scraped the side of the Destroyer. “Right, right, I forgot about your control issues.” 

“I don’t have control issues!” 

“ _Please,_ you physically twitch whenever you aren’t in the pilot’s seat of whatever ship you’re on!” 

“What? No!” 

“You are literally twitching right now.” 

Anakin forced himself to stay still. “It’s just nerves because of the current situation!” 

“No, you’ve always done it, Anakin. Even when you were alive.” 

“You are absolutely making that up!” 

“I am not! I didn’t even notice it until Ahsoka pointed it out to me!” 

“ _Ahsoka_ was just bitter I didn’t let her pilot more.” 

Obi Wan leaned forward. “And why is that?” 

Anakin groaned. “Because! I was— hey, watch!” 

Looking up in surprise, the two realized they had managed to argue their way through the entire chase, refocusing just in time for Rey to pull off an extremely difficult feat, opening the way for Finn to blast the remaining TIE with a direct hit, sending it spiraling away. 

Obi Wan slumped in his seat. “We made it.” 

Anakin barked a laugh, turning back to take Obi Wan’s hand again. “Guess Rey’s a good enough pilot, huh?” 

Obi Wan snorted, running a thumb over Anakin’s knuckles. “We could still crash.” 

Anakin watched the bleached sands of Jakku fade away to be replaced with the comforting pitch black of space as Rey piloted the _Falcon_ out of the atmosphere. “Well if we do, at least it won’t be on karking Jakku.” He glared at the bottom of Rey’s chair. “See! She tracked sand onto the ship!” 

“Anakin, honestly.” 

“It’s _everywhere!_ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both Anakin and Obi Wan have a danger kink the size of a small moon, but Obi is worse. Y’all can fight me on that. Thank you so much to everyone who’s left a comment or kudos or anything! Comments make me write faster, so if you have something to say about it, let me know!


	6. Han's ship is still lowkey a Mess.  Han's son is Highkey a Mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, woo hoo!

In the corridors of the _Millennium Falcon_ , two young people who just beat the odds rushed to meet each other, all wide grins and waving hands, talking over the other in their excitement and heaping out praise.

Standing beside them unseen were two ghosts who had danced to this tune many a time in their lives, feeling the Force sing harmoniously as it pulsed brightly in victory around Finn and Rey.

“They make a pretty good team, huh?” Anakin remarked, nudging Obi Wan ’s shoulder.

“Better than us?” Obi Wan challenged.

Anakin blurted out “Force, I hope so” so quickly it sent both of them into a fit of un-Jedi-like snickering.

“Stars, we were good at our jobs but we really were just utter disasters, weren’t we?” Obi Wan managed, shoulders still shaking. 

Anakin nodded vigorously. “I stand by the opinion that we should have been called ‘Team Hot Mess’.”

Obi Wan laughed again in surprise. “ _Hot Mess?_ That’s brilliant, when did you think that one up?”

“Oh, I’m not that clever. This one was Kix.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. Why wasn’t I there to hear it though?”

“Oh you were,” Anakin snorted. “You were just passed out as usual—“ 

“—Excuse me—?!“ 

“— _As usual;_ you’d almost bled out again because you’re dumb and get hurt easily.”

“Oh, and you were pristine as porcelain, were you?”

Anakin shot him a lopsided grin. “Obviously. Kidding,” he added hastily. “I had a broken ankle, splinters in my everywhere, and half of my face was swollen up worse than a puffer pig and they couldn’t get it to go back down.”

“Right, right.” Obi Wan snapped his fingers in sudden remembrance. “That was that one moon with the orange fog and the strange disappearances. We went to do recon—“

“—without squad backup, yeah.” Anakin finished for him. “We were low on supplies too, remember, so when Cody and Rex finally rescued our asses and dragged us back to medical, as the sole conscious one I got read the riot act for what had to be an hour.

“Oh, that must have been traumatizing for you.”

“It was! In my defence, nearly every sentient healer I’ve ever met has been more than a little scary and ready to fight anyone at any time, any place.”

“Of course they are,” Obi Wan said. “Medics run on caffeine, medical texts, and the impossible hope that they can go five minutes without having to clean up what they just fixed or some new mess altogether.”

Across the lounge, a popping noise sounded and steam burst from one of the vents, sending the two ghosts back to the present and causing all four people in the room to jump. Anakin groaned. “Was that less than five minutes?” 

He got up to follow over to where Rey and Finn were fretting over the newest problem only for Obi Wan to take his hand, halting him. “Don’t go getting yourself into a fuss over not being able to fix whatever’s wrong for them.”

Anakin _did not_ pout. “I wasn’t going to!” 

Obi Wan gave him a knowing look, unconvinced. “Right. Come on, it’s about time we made sure Poe isn’t dead.”

“But Poe’s on Jakku!” Anakin _did not_ whine.

Now Obi Wan was sporting his more annoyed _Anakin, stop acting like a crecheling_ face. “He is indeed, and he may have awoken and moved, we don’t know. That’s why we need to go and make sure he’s alright.”

Anakin glared. “You were the one who left him there!”

Obi Wan flushed lightly. “That is besides the point.”

“It’s really not.”

“Don’t pick a fight to change the subject. Let’s just get to him and then right back here again. Finn and Rey will be fine on their own for a second or two.” 

Anakin gave a put-upon sigh tinted with more dramatics than strictly necessary. “ _Fine._ Just for a moment.”

Obi Wan couldn’t help but roll his eyes as Poe’s face appeared in their minds and they faded from the deck of the _Falcon_ back to the sands of Jakku. 

“Well, this looks to be where I left him.”

“How can you tell? Everything looks the same on this stupid gritty rock.”

“ _Anakin._ ”

“Alright, alright. Hey, is that him?”

Obi Wan followed Anakin’s pointed finger to see the lump under the lightly rustling chute that was indeed Poe Dameron. “Yes, that’s him. Damn, but I wish he had woken up by now.”

Anakin’s lip twitched in amusement. “Master, he looks like someone flung the nearest relatively clean piece of fabric they could find over a corpse for decency’s sake.”

“Oh do shut up.” Obi Wan marched over to where Poe lay. “He was a little banged up when I left him, but there wasn’t anything seriously— Anakin, help me with the chute, would you? —seriously wrong with him, _see?_ ” Obi Wan finished triumphantly as together they Force-lifted the fabric to see Poe lying beneath it, still out cold.

“He looks like hell,” Anakin commented. “But you’re right, there doesn’t seem to be anything too bad?”

“Yes. I suppose we can go, but I really do feel awful about just leaving him here,” Obi Wan fretted. 

But he wasn’t volunteering to stay and keep watch, and Anakin sure wasn’t going to. Finn and Rey were special, and their path was set to light the galaxy aflame; neither ghost wanted to miss being there to see it.

“The Force will protect him if he’s meant to live,” Obi Wan tried to reason. “And look at his aura.”

Anakin could sense the faint glow of kinetic energy quivering around Poe, whispering for patience. “I think… he’ll be okay?”

“He’s going to wake up soon,” Obi Wan decided. “He will, it’s almost palpable. We’re not supposed to stay here.”

“Good,” Anakin said, immediately perking up. 

“Back to the _Falcon_ , then?” Obi Wan asked.

Anakin opened his mouth to agree before pausing, looking as though he had just bitten into a particularly sour fruit. 

“What?” Ob Wan pressed.

Anakin grimaced again. “I should check on Ben while we’re at it.”

Obi Wan frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a feeling. When was the last time you saw him?”

Obi Wan coughed. “Erm. When he was, ah, torturing Poe.”

“Pleasant.” Anakin snorted. “But I want to know if Finn and Rey are in danger.”

“That is a good idea,” Obi Wan admitted, reaching out to squeeze Anakin’s shoulder. “If you’re certain.”

“Yeah.” Anakin nodded vigorously. It was a very uncertain nod.

Obi Wan’s hand warm on his shoulder, he focused on the dark eyes of his grandson— Leia’s eyes— _Padmé’s eyes_ , and in a blink, they were both standing on the bridge of the _Finalizer_. 

Kylo Ren lurked by the window overlooking the space around them, an icy shadow giving off waves of frozen fear and hatred that permeated the entire room and caused the bridge officers to duck their heads just a bit more, to draw their perfectly starched collars just a bit higher up their necks.

Anakin found the atmosphere all too familiar and did not like it one bit. 

“Bad idea, bad idea.”

Hesitant footsteps and the quiver in the Force of fear behind them appeared as a lieutenant walked up to where Ben was standing, back ramrod straight and face pale. 

“Someone drew the short stick,” Anakin sniped, squawking in dismay as the man walked through his side a second later. “I hate this.”

“We don’t need to stay too long,” Obi Wan tried to assure him as the lieutenant— what was his name again? —reported the failure to retrieve BB-8. 

“So when this lackey dies, got it,” Anakin shot back, hands clenching.

The black mask rotated slowly to look at the man who tensed up even further, if possible.

“Possibly a bit longer than that,” Obi Wan said quickly as the man who at least had a spine continued bravely, saying the droid had escaped capture aboard a stolen freighter.

And then Kylo’s deadpan “The droid… stole a freighter?” had both ghosts laughing despite themselves. 

“Ben, you grew up with _R2 and 3PO,_ ” Anakin told him. “R2 has actually stolen a ship before, why does this surprise you?”

“R2 is a menace to society,” Obi Wan reminded him and Anakin hushed him as the lieutenant hemmed and hawed, not exactly, mentioning that they had reason to believe FN-2187—

“Who?” Anakin blinked. 

“Finn,” Obi Wan explained. “They— oh, there he goes…”

“Kriff’s sake, Ben, how old are you?” Anakin snapped, watching as his grandson proceeded to whip out his saber and start hacking up the console behind him in one violent tantrum. Feeling as though Obi Wan was staring (he wasn’t), Anakin continued. “When I was— you know, I didn’t do that, break random shit.”

“I know.”

“It was valuable equipment, you know? I was supposed to be a good boy for whoever Sidious sent me to work with; it would be hell to pay for me if I did something that set back one of his projects by screwing with the tech or something.”

“I know, Anakin.”

“No, what I did was go after the living underlings,” Anakin said distractedly as Ben finished his fit to demand the lieutenant finish. “They were expendable, it set an example, you get it. Classic Sith-y stuff.”

“Like that?” Obi Wan murmured as the poor lieutenant mentioned a girl helping the fugitives and received a Force-choking in return.

“Like that.” Anakin agreed faintly, promptly disappearing.

Strangling was no, just no, not going to watch that. Not today. 

Obi Wan sighed, releasing his own tension into the Force best he could and heading back off to where he guessed his partner had gone.

Sure enough, when he reappeared on in _Falcon’s_ lounge, Anakin was crouched beside Finn, staring into the steaming panel in the floor. 

Oh, and alarms were going off now, how lovely. Alarms were always good.

“Are you alright?” Obi Wan asked him. Anakin wasn’t, of course, but it was the standard question that displayed friendship and care, and so far no one had been able to come up with something better to say.

“It’s the motivator,” Anakin said instead of responding, speaking in unison with Rey, who popped up out of the panel to demand tools then disappeared again.

Respecting Anakin’s wish not to talk about it at the moment, Obi Wan went with the change of subject. “The motivator? Won’t that cause problems with whatever it’s connected to?”

Anakin leaned into him slightly, a touch of gratitude brushing against Obi Wan across their bond. “Mmmhmm. The propulsion tank; if they don’t fix it, it’ll overflow.”

“And the gas release would kill them.” Obi Wan finished, happy to feel Anakin’s anxiety fading slightly at the familiar and comforting conversation about mechanics.

Anakin nodded. “Yeah, but Rey seems to know what she’s doing. Let’s hope Finn does too,” he added as Rey asked Finn the location of the Resistance base before ducking below again.

“You should tell her,” Anakin said as conflict spread over Finn’s face again. “She understands survival, she’ll still help you, Finn.”

“He’s not ready to realize that yet,” Obi Wan spoke softly as Finn instead turned to BB and begged to know the base’s location. “He’s scared and clinging to what he’s been able to find.”

“He’s on thin ice here,” Anakin warned as BB considered Finn’s offer. 

Rey popped up again, asking for a Pilex driver, Anakin swearing as his hand went through the tool when he tried to grab it himself and give it to her. Obi Wan choked on a laugh, schooling his face into an innocent expression as Anakin's head shot back up to glower at him. 

“So where’s your base?” Rey questioned, returning their attention to her.

A pause. 

Finn stammered, “Go on, BB-8, tell her.”

Another pause as Finn mouthed _”Please!”_ at the droid, who hesitated, considering his options. 

The ghosts held their nonexistent breaths. 

Finally, he turned to Rey and warbled out that the base was in the Ileenium system.

Anakin smiled. “Atta boy, BB.”

They saw Finn enthusiastically agree with BB before turning to the little droid with a thumbs up. 

BB responded with a welding torch.

Finn withdrew his hand hastily.

“Aww, he was just doing a little thumbs up back!”

“Anakin, that was a flip-off.”

“No it wasn’t!”

“It was too, now shush! I missed where Rey was dropping them.”

“What about you?” Finn was asking Rey, pawing around for bonding tape. 

“I’ve got to get back to Jakku,” Rey replied.

Anakin and Finn exploded as one. “Jakku?!” Anakin exclaimed in consternation. “I’m adopting Finn too now, Force knows he’s the only one with sense not to go back to that garbage heap, even if he doesn’t see what’s _literally right in front of him,_ come on, Finn!”

Obi Wan watched in amusement as Anakin and Rey both tried in vain to point Finn to the bonding tape, Rey threatening the consequences if they didn’t fix the problem.

“See, exactly what we said. The girl knows her ships.” Anakin remarked approvingly, adding a “ _Finally!_ ” as Finn found the tape at last with BB’s help, tossing it to Rey.

“So Rey,” Finn queried. “You're a pilot, you can fly anywhere! Why go back? You got a family?”

Anakin frowned “Oh, that’s right,” just as Finn was now faux-casually adding on “Boyfriend? Cute boyfriend?”

The two ghosts shared a look, grins on both their faces as Rey retorted back that it was none of Finn’s business, that’s why.

Then the power went out.

“Right as things were getting entertaining, too!” Anakin complained and Obi Wan elbowed him, Anakin giving him a sheepish smile in response as both ghosts hurried to the cockpit with the two living beings right behind them.

Anakin squared his jaw upon seeing what loomed over them. “That’s a big freighter.”

Obi Wan shot him a look. “And there’s no way to break the lock on the controls?”

Anakin was shaking his head, ship schematics and astrophysics running through his head. “Maybe if we gave the hyperdrive an additional boost, but definitely not in the condition it’s in now and we don’t have anything for it anyway. Also, I’m getting almost a… good feeling? About this?”

Obi Wan considered the mammoth dragging them in. “It’s definitely not First Order,” he said in response to Finn’s panicked declaration. “It looks like something pirates would use to capture and trap their cargo. But I get what you mean about this somehow not being a bad thing, I feel it too.”

“Wait, listen to Finn,” Anakin commanded as Finn asked Rey if she could unfix the poisonous gas threat. Rey’s eyes widened in realization of what he was planning, and in a flash they were both tearing off again.

Obi Wan gave Anakin a concerned glance. “The _Falcon_ has gas masks, right?”

“Yeah, I saw some,” Anakin replied as they made their way back to the lounge area where Finn, Rey, and BB were all squeezing into the grating. “It’ll take Rey some time to reverse what she did anyway.”

Obi Wan was staring at the door. “That may be a good thing,” he mused, not liking the uncertain feeling the Force was holding just out of reach of being able to solve.

Anakin was watching Finn and Rey down below as Rey worked the controls, Finn almost buzzing with nervous energy.

The cloud in the Force suddenly cleared and Anakin and Obi Wan both jerked up in surprise, materializing to the front door to the entrance ramp to confirm what they sensed. Sure enough, as impossible as it seemed, they were right. 

“He’s _here?_ ” Anakin was incredulous.

“Well, they did find his ship.” Ob Wan reasoned, neither of them even questioning the familiar Force presence they had known for decades suddenly popping up. 

“I know, but now? With everything happening?” Anakin went on.

“It does seem quite coincidental,” Obi Wan agreed, ignoring the look Anakin shot him. They both knew that in this galaxy there were rarely such things as coincidences. 

Anakin’s face darkened. “How do we even know he’ll help them? He left this fight!”

The lights flickered back on as the noise of the ship ramp lowering sounded outside. Finn yanked the vent cover over himself and Rey as Obi Wan rolled his eyes at his companion. “Anakin, honestly, you _can’t_ still be upset at him about that.”

Anakin drew up. “I sure as hells can! You know I can be mad about anything, and he _left_ her, Obi Wan. He left her!” he argued as the _Falcon’s_ door opened and Han Solo swept through the entryway, Chewbacca at his back and weapons at the ready.

“Chewie,” Han managed, eyes deep with emotion. “We’re home.”

 _”Home is with your wife!”_ Anakin hissed in outrage. 

Now Obi Wan rounded on him. “Anakin,” he said carefully. “Are you really going to be the one to lecture on how to be a good family member?”

“No, I was shit at it!” Anakin’s voice was rising. “So I know when someone else is being shit at it too!”

Obi Wan blinked, thrown off. “Even so, Han can’t hear you, so I’d appreciate you didn’t hurt the ears of those of us who can!”

Anakin fell into a mutinous silence as Han and Chewie split up and began to search the ship, pointedly choosing to stalk off after the Wookiee. 

Obi Wan continued after him, decidedly _not_ feeling guilty for pointing out the truth. “Anyway, so Han and Chewbacca aren’t seconds away from asphyxiation by toxins, are they?”

Anakin sniffed, still peeved. “Probably not.”

Obi Wan was going to press him on this actually urgent issue when Chewie suddenly lifted his head, sniffing the air. He rumbled a call to Han.

There had been, not many, but a few Wookiee Jedi at the temple, so both Obi Wan and Anakin had rudimentary understandings of Shyriiwook, but it didn’t take fluency to understand what Chewie was saying as he headed off in the direction of the lounge, bowcaster held tight.

“Here we go…” Anakin muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to state for the record that I have no serious opinions on any Sequel Trilogy ship save for Reylo/Darkpilot, which I do not ship. Therefore, unless canon tells me otherwise, I will not be promoting those ships in any way and neither will the characters, so if those are your fave ships, I'm sorry. As to any other pairing that can be seen as romantic, I will try and judge all interactions through the characters' eyes, not my own. So, if I think Obi Wan or Anakin would see something as romantic/platonic, that is how I will write that bit. 
> 
> Also, I do know Lieutenant Mitaka's name, but I don't think our ghostly pals would as when they visit Kylo, they're probs only going to be paying to the serious players like Snoke, Kylo himself, and his direct coworkers(?) like Hux and Phasma, so they won't know absolutely everybody.
> 
> Even the tiniest comment makes my life, so please drop me one if you can!


	7. A brief interlude between two characters I have honestly never read interacting before (so if someone else did lmk i wanna see it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is too short and way too goofy but it doesn't make sense as a oneshot and I wanted to put it in so here we go, two updates in a day.

Back on Jakku, the sun was finally starting to set.

The lump under the discarded parachute known as Poe Dameron stirred slightly. Anakin and Obi Wan had checked on him a little over two hours ago, and he should be awake by now.

He was working on it.

You see, during the Crash Landing That Wasn't (Poe did not crash. He was an Ace Pilot. There were no crashes, simply exciting landings. Shut up, Jess.), Poe had managed to crack his head on the roof of the TIE pod during his sudden departure, knocking him out instantly. He had been mostly-conscious for a while, but his mouth felt funny and his eyelids too heavy to open and there was a weird buzzing noise. 

Also, he couldn't feel his left arm.

Was he buzzing? 

No.

Maybe? He felt like something was buzzing.

Anyway, buzzing or not, Poe was _hot_. 

And not in the attractive way, he felt like he had been stuck in an oven on low and was slowly baking alive.

So, he should really open his eyes.

Now.

Okay, _now._

He'd get there eventually.

In the conscious world, the air shimmered briefly as a ghost came into view. 

Contrary to Poe's previous ethereal visitors, this one had no interest in a downed pilot's well-being. No, this ghost was tired of being ignored, and had grown bored of convincing porgs to dive-bomb Luke back on Ahch-To. Yoda had figured he best leave before he gave into his temptation to do something to the wizened old tree Luke had taken to squirreling himself away in. He hadn't set something on fire in a _long_ time and it would definitely get Luke's attention.

But Yoda controlled himself, setting any pyromaniacal plans aside for another time, and decided to head off to Jakku to check on The Team. They hadn't returned yet from seeing if Luke's map had been found or not, and he wondered if something bigger had happened.

 _Of course it did..._ Yoda chuckled to himself as he gazed around the desert, old eyes squinting even in the dying sunlight. _Whenever report in, they did not, find out later we would. Through the Holonet. Or by the smoke cloud in the sky, the size of..._

He narrowed his eyes, letting the web of the Force extend around him. There didn't seem to be any life forms out here at all, not even—

"Oh ho!" Yoda hooted, spotting the glow of life obscured under some sort of tarp, wreckage from some vehicle strewn around it. He moved over to it, ears pricking up at the fading signatures of Anakin and Obi Wan. They had been here, and they had left a mess.

Typical.

"Killed someone, you two better not have," Yoda grumbled, poking at the body-shaped lump under the sheet with his gimer stick. He received a groan in response, and with a quick flick of the Force he sent the fabric up and off to the side, revealing the beat-up man sprawled beneath it.

"Ooh, messy." Yoda tsked. "The pilot, are you?" 

That seemed right, but the pilot did not respond to him. Yoda examined him more thoroughly. He should be awake by now. Lazy. 

The other two must have found whatever was causing the Force to draw things to Jakku and followed it, and now Yoda was here and probably shouldn't leave an injured man in the desert, no matter if Obi Wan and Anakin had thought it fine to do so.

"Expected better of you, I did, Obi Wan," Yoda muttered, circling around Poe's form.

Well there was a problem. Poe wouldn't be able to get much done with his arm like that.

Nodding decisively, Yoda gathered the Force around him, focusing on the awkward angle of Poe's arm.

Then he _pushed_.

 _Pop!_ went Poe's arm.

Poe's arm was suddenly on fire, cutting through the murky haze he was floating in and causing him to shoot awake with a shriek of pain, grabbing at his arm as tears welled in his eyes.

"Yes!" Yoda huffed impatiently. 

Poe was promptly blinded by white light from his surroundings and black spots as all the blood flowed the wrong way.

 _Woah..._ He quickly lay back down, eyes closed again and still clutching his arm.

 _"No!"_ Yoda snapped, waving his stick through Poe's head to little avail. 

Poe lay there a moment more, breathing slowly as the burning pain slowly receded to a dull ache. Opening his eyes again more slowly, he gradually sat up, scanning the desert surroundings with a squint. He ran his good hand through his hair, wincing as he brushed his wound and his hand came back stained with dried blood.

"Up up up with you," Yoda scolded. "Places to be, you have."

Poe seemed to have heard him because his eyes widened with horror as his memories caught up with him. _I escaped... we crashed... we... FINN!_

"Finn!"

"Eh, who?" Yoda frowned as Poe got more carefully to his feet, testing out the arm Yoda had _just fixed, be careful_ , working it until the pain mostly subsided and then quickly following the trail of scattered shipwreck up a nearby dune. "Finn? Finn!"

"Who is Finn?" Yoda asked him, following him grouchily. "Around for miles, no one is!"

Poe did not hear him this time, gasping as he came across a scorched hollow of sand.

"Finn! You around here?"

"Quicksand, I think that is." Yoda observed as Poe continued calling out for whoever this Finn was. Ridiculous. Anakin had said there was _one_ pilot being sent to Jakku, not two!

A cry of alarm brought Yoda back to his surroundings as he saw Poe struggling frantically as he rapidly sunk into what was indeed quicksand.

"Too old for this, I am," Yoda complained, moving over, grabbing strands of the Force again, focusing on Poe's whole body this time and _yanked_.

Poe promptly shot out of the sand, flying over ten feet in the air to faceplant in the nearest dune, too startled to scream.

"There," Yoda muttered as Poe popped his head out of the sand, looking around frantically and patting his thigh for a blaster that wasn't there.

"What the _fuck?_ "

"Welcome, you are— _hey!_ " Yoda squawked in disgust as Poe got up again and promptly spat a sandy glob of spit directly through Yoda's head. "Left you to sink, I should have!"

Unaware to the ghostly swipes of a ghostly stick passing through his shins, Poe watched as the sun set, something in his eyes dying with it. His face hardened. He had a mission to complete.

_Goodbye, Finn. Thank you._

As the stars began to glitter in the sky, Poe scrutinized them, trying to remember what part of Jakku they were flying over when they were hit and what stars he could see now so he could find his way.

After a moment, he felt confident he knew what direction he needed to go in, and off he set, arm beginning to throb again.

"The wrong way, you are going!" Yoda exclaimed, getting ready to just leave and let him find his own way. "That way, civilization is!"

Poe kept walking until suddenly— _"What the fuck?!"_

His boot was not moving from where it was suddenly lodged in the sand, and he couldn't find what it was caught on no matter how deep he dug. Growling in exasperation, Poe turned around.

"There you go," Yoda smirked.

Poe's boot unstuck.

He looked at it. "What?"

He then turned back around to walk the other way again.

_"NO!"_

Poe's boot stuck again. He took in a very deep breath and turned around, ready to scream.

His boot unstuck.

"I must have really hit my head," Poe told himself. That had to be it. 

He wasn't a Jedi. Jedi shit didn't happen to him.

Grumbling under his breath about "Jedi shit", Poe set off in the direction his boot seemed to want to go, adjusting his course whenever it seemed to stick again.

Yoda followed him, chastising the whole way as they slowly headed towards where he sensed people and a place Poe could find a ship. "'Jedi shit'! Disrespect!"

He wondered what this planet's version of porgs were. Watching Poe duck something would be funny.

Poe promptly screamed as a giant desert beetle flew at his face.

Yoda smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay maybe it's cheating cuz Poe never actually acknowledges Yoda but idc, fite me. I'm not gonna continue with the Poe and Yoda Adventures, but just assume there's Wacky Hijinks™️ Poe's entire trip back to the Resistance.


	8. So Two Gangs, a Smuggler, Some Fugitives, a Droid, a Wookiee, and Two Ghosts Walk Into a Rathtar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I know I said weekly updates and this has been literally 20 days and not even the excuse of a broken computer this time, but like, January kicked my ASS. Everything crazy and awful happened and I've had to wrestle with writers block to write my school papers, which took up all my energy and left me too drained to write this, but I finally got it out!!!!! And again, it's a longer one to make up for the wait!

“So what are the chances he really just smells, like, an old sandwich or something he left under a seat when they lost this place?” Anakin half-joked at Chewbacca’s back as the Wookiee made his way directly towards where Finn, Rey, and BB-8 were hiding.

Obi Wan made a face. “That sandwich would have to be years old. I’d say the chances are pretty low.”

Anakin slapped his back lightly. “There’s that positivity.”

Chewie reached the lounge, Han entering from the other side. Han silently raised his eyebrows, communicating wordlessly in a question. Chewie aimed his bowcaster directly at the hideaway vent in response, Han nodding and moving closer, training his own blaster on it as well.

“Oh, please don’t just shoot first,” Obi Wan muttered as Chewie moved over to grab the vent.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Anakin told him, inwardly recalling the incident on Bespin where a young Han, upon coming face to face with Darth Vader, mystical figure of death and destruction who could kill a being with his mind alone, decided to immediately try and shoot the Sith Lord in the head.

But a Sith Lord was a far cry from a pair of scared kids and a droid, and the instant Chewie yanked the cover off, both ghosts could see Han’s finger on the trigger relax slightly.

“Where are the others?” Han demanded. “Where’s the pilot?”

Anakin bristled. “Why can’t Rey or Finn be the pilot?”

Obi Wan’s eyebrows raised as Rey defended herself not only to Han, but to Chewie as well. “She speaks Shyriiwook?”

“Yeah, so?” Anakin said distractedly, smirking as Finn echoed Obi Wan’s question much less elegantly, earning himself a chastisement from Han and a shooing out of the vent.

“ _So,_ ” Obi Wan lectured, giving Anakin a Look. “Wookiees don’t do well in hot climates. You said Rey lived on Jakku her whole life— where would she learn Shyriiwook?”

Anakin frowned. “You’re right, that is strange. Her family, maybe? Before they left her there?” he mused, just as Han exclaimed, “Jakku? That junkyard?!”

“Thank you! Junkyard!” Anakin and Finn chorused together, Anakin ducking his head with a rueful grin as Obi Wan laughed at him. 

“I don’t care, I’m proud!” Anakin defended. “I told you, Finn’s smart so we should adopt him!”

Obi Wan’s eyes narrowed, still twinkling with amusement. “Really?”

“Yes.” Anakin nodded insistently. “Rey too. They need someone to keep an eye on them.”

“Isn’t that what we’re already doing?” Obi Wan asked him as Han spun around dramatically, declaring over his shoulder he wanted it known that Han Solo had just stolen back the _Millennium Falcon_ for good.

Both could see Rey and Finn physically light up, Rey pressing eagerly if Han was really who he said he was.

“I used to be,” Han muttered.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Drama much?”

“Says the Skywalker,” Obi Wan quipped, earning himself an elbow in the side as Finn clarified, the Rebellion general?

Rey corrected, no, the _smuggler_ , causing both ghosts to laugh again. 

“I like her priorities,” Obi Wan chuckled, Anakin snickering harder at Chewie’s “Well, kinda?” to Finn’s question if Han was a war hero.

“This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs!” Rey gushed.

“ _Twelve!_ ” Han snapped back, grumbling to himself.

Anakin quirked a brow. “I thought it was thirteen? Is he just gradually rounding down?”

Obi Wan shrugged. “I think he said twelve when I first met him.”

“Right, right, I forgot you actually met him. So he just weaves that little factoid into his introductions? Charming.”

Obi Wan held up a hand. “To his credit, Luke and I were questioning his piloting skills.” He paused, a small smile spreading across his face. “He was quite proud of himself and his little ship though.”

Anakin shrugged. “Well if it is true, he deserves some pride. That distance shouldn’t be possible.”

Obi Wan grinned at him challengingly. “So you couldn’t do it.”

Anakin raised a finger. “I did not say that— I _did_ say something about that ignition line compressor though!” He turned instantly to jab the accusing finger at where Han was complaining about the unwanted modification. Anakin's foot tapped impatiently as Rey explained what Plutt had done. “Not to mention the fuel pump nobody seems to have mentioned, or even noticed! They should just let me fix it already!”

“Anakin, you are dead and cannot fix it.”

_“They should let me fix it!”_

“I think Han and Rey together will be just fine.” Obi Wan observed as Rey and Han rattled off the issues in unison, trailing off to look at each other with new intrigue.

Han’s crotchety façade faded just for a moment to reveal the man who recognized a fellow outcast in need of help, before hardening again as he ordered Chewie to get ready to kick them off the ship.

Anakin looked away in annoyance as Rey protested no, they needed Han’s help! “See, he doesn’t want to help anyone.”

Obi Wan watched closely. “They’ll persuade him.”

Anakin began, “How—?” just as Finn revealed BB’s map to Luke.

Han froze in his tracks, gruff mask falling apart completely.

Obi Wan nodded decisively. “That’s how.”

Finn noticed instantly. “You _are_ the Han Solo who fought with the Rebellion!” he accused. “You knew him!”

“He ‘knew’ Leia too, and look where he is!” Anakin sneered and Obi Wan sighed.

Han had turned slowly, rasping out that yes, he did know Luke, a lifetime of stories and emotions in his hollowed gaze, pain open and clear on his unguarded face.

Obi Wan heard Anakin start to scoff at Han from beside him and cut him off in exasperation. “Anakin, I know you are upset, but I think you’re forgetting just how hard it is when someone you love turns to the Dark Side!”

Immediate silence, as the space between the two grew decidedly cold. Anakin shrunk back as if he had been physically slapped, face shuttering. 

_Well, now I’ve done it…_

Obi Wan cringed, forcing himself to continue now that he’d drug the ugliness out into the open. “It _hurts,_ ” he whispered, determinedly focusing on Anakin’s eyes that were now avoiding his. “We do things we regret because we’re hurting, because we’re lost and don’t know what to do, or what went wrong. You _know_ this. Don’t hold Han to higher standards just for being human.”

 _To be angry is to be human,_ a sweet voice soothed in Anakin’s memory, the phantom sensation of a slender hand running comfortingly down his back. He brushed that memory away irritably, focusing instead on the here and now and forcing himself to meet the troubled grey eyes of the man in front of him. 

“I do know,” Anakin said helplessly. “I know I’ve been responsible for causing that pain, for you and so many others, but I have been on the receiving end of it too.” He swallowed. “I loved Ben. I still love Ben, even after everything.”

Obi Wan smiled sadly. “Of course you do. You’re hurting too.” He tentatively reached for Anakin’s hand, almost wilting in relief as Anakin let him take it. “I just ask you to consider Han before you condemn him, as someone else who has loved and lost Ben.”

Anakin let loose a shaky breath, lowering his hackles and begrudgingly reexamining things from Han’s point of view. “Alright,” he conceded. “I get it. I may have been a bit hard on him.” A pause. “I’m sorry.”

Obi Wan squeezed his hand once before releasing it. “He’s going to do the right thing now. He'll help Luke. I can sense it.”

“Yeah,” Anakin agreed. “Me too— _wait._ ”

Obi Wan paled, senses shifting to high-alert and mirroring Anakin's frantic look around the now-empty cabin. “Where did they go? Did they actually leave?”

“I guess we were busy arguing and just didn’t notice?” Anakin suggested, wincing in embarrassment as he said it. 

Obi Wan made a frustrated noise, promptly dropping through the _Falcon’s_ floor and marching through the hangar bay in the direction of Rey’s starburst Signature and the lesser flames of the men. “It would be the second time today it happened to us,” he scolded. “We are literally a part of the Force itself; allowing things to just pass by us is _highly_ unprofessional.”

“ _’Professional’_ ,” Anakin echoed from beside him, arm brushing against Obi Wan’s side as they walked. “When have we ever gotten paid?”

“Oh, do shut up.” Obi Wan didn’t do anything about the arm brushing, though. After their conversation, a little more closeness was a comfort.

The Force apparently was back to letting the ghostly duo in on things, as it suddenly trilled a warning to announce the arrival of another ship into the hangar.

Anakin growled. “More company, fantastic. Who the kark are they?” 

“I highly doubt Han invited any friends, so my guess is trouble.” Obi Wan told him. “Come on. Let’s catch up.”

The pair materialized in a grimy hallway where Rey, Finn, and BB were tailing Han and Chewie, looks of concern on all of their faces.

“…How’d you get them onboard?” Finn was asking Han anxiously.

“'Them', you mean the other ship?” Anakin asked hopefully, purposefully ignoring the certain _somethings_ he could sense within the bowels of the ship. Maybe Han had some sort of buyer coming?

“I used to have a bigger crew.” Han grumbled.

“Idiots did it to themselves,” Chewie added.

“Definitely not the other ship,” Obi Wan muttered, all too aware of the chaotic presence calling out into the Force angrily. “Some sort of creature? Creatures?”

Anakin straightened. “Kriff it, I’ll go take a look. Stay here.” He disappeared as Han herded Finn and Rey under a deck hatch for the second time that day. The old smuggler was warning the two younger people to stay put when Anakin burst back into focus, swearing up a storm in a multitude of languages.

Obi Wan tensed. “Care to share with the class?”

Anakin shot him a glare. “Rathtars,” he panted. “ _Loose_ rathtars.”

Obi Wan’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “Rathtars, _plural?_ ”

“At least two, possibly three. It was hard to tell with all the—“ Anakin made a face, wiggling his arms in a way that was supposed to signify ‘tentacles’. “Force, I hate galactic creepers.”

It was at this point the rathtars decided to speak for themselves, a giant tongue slamming into the giant cargo container window behind Finn, causing everyone both alive and dead to jump a good couple feet in the air.

“See!” Anakin shrilled.

“There’s one.” Han commented.

"You don't say," Obi Wan snorted, absolutely not admitting to having been startled... 

“What are you going to do?” Rey worried.

“Same thing I always do,” Han assured her, sounding much more confident than he looked. “Talk my way out of it.”

Chewie rumble-snorted at his friend’s retreating form. “You really don’t, Han.”

Han whirled on him with an indignant finger at the ready. “Yes I do! Every time!”

Chewie scoffed some more as he and Han went to greet their company.

Anakin made an amused noise as he trailed after them. “Don’t worry, Chewie, I can relate.”

Obi Wan narrowed his eyes.. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Anakin tilted his head, fake-pondering. “Well, let’s just say that if I had a credit for every time you tried to talk us out of the frying pan and landed us directly into the fire instead…”

“You still wouldn’t have enough to pay for even a tenth of the damage caused whenever _your_ mouth got us into trouble,” Obi Wan replied sweetly.

“So we’re going there?” Anakin challenged playfully. “Because I have several stories that prove—“

“Maybe later,” Obi Wan murmured, putting a hand out to stop Anakin. 

“Coward,” Anakin whispered, but left it alone and watched Han and Chewie stop outside a hatch in the now empty hallway. The Wookiee looked at Han uncertainly, receiving a cocky grin and a waved hand from his friend in response.

“Relax, you big fuzzball. The ‘Guavian Death Gang’ label’s—“

“—They sound friendly—” Obi Wan said drily. 

“—just to scare people.” Han told Chewie. “These are reasonable guys, I know these guys.”

“We don’t have their money, Han.” Chewie reminded him, gripping his bowcaster as voices and steps could be heard from the other side of the door.

Anakin perked up suddenly, sensing something. “They’ve sent some guys around the other side.”

Obi Wan frowned. “Are they all part of the same group?”

Anakin blinked. “I sure hope so.”

Han, of course, heard none of the ghostly exchange, patting his friend’s furry shoulder. “Chewie, I’ve got this. Probably. Hey, just be glad it wasn’t Kanjiklub who found us.” 

“Exactly how many crime groups are you playing, Captain Solo?” Obi Wan asked, eyes on the shadow’s outside the hatch’s window.

With a hiss, the door slid open, six armored figures stalking through. The man in the lead was short and had mean, dark eyes. He brought his men to a halt at the end of the hallway, calling out to Han. “Han Solo! You are a dead man.”

Han smiled the _’who, me?’_ smile of the professional bantha-shitter. “Bala-Tik. What’s the problem?”

“Money?” Obi Wan and Anakin questioned in unison.

Bala-Tik spit out that Han owed them fifty thousand credits.

The ghosts looked at each other in satisfaction. “Money.”

Bala-Tik brought up Han’s apparent deal with Kanjiklub and Obi Wan tutted. “See? Stick your fingers in too many pots and you’ll end up getting burned.”

Han tried to protest, only for Bala-Tik to demand the gang’s money back.

“I spent that money!” Han snapped.

“Kanjiklub wants their investment back too.”

“I never made a deal with Kanjiklub!”

“Tell that to Kanjiklub.”

“Oh,” Anakin muttered in realization as the beings they had sensed earlier revealed themselves behind the other door. Han’s face went white.

Obi Wan stroked his beard, mind whirling as he thought things through. “He can still pull this off. Gang alliances are temporary and as fragile as Rishi spider silk. All he has to do is keep them talking and get them to fight each other.”

Anakin shook his head. “Han’s quick, really quick, but he’s not on the same level of 'sneaky bastard' as you are, Master.”

Obi Wan would have objected to that statement, but Han had stepped forward towards the new group, cool smuggler’s mask starting to dissolve under stress. “Tasu Leech,” he managed. “Good to see you.”

It was clearly not good to see Han for Tasu Leech, who snarled out a reply in a backwater, vaguely-Huttese dialect with an accent so strange it had both ghosts stumbling over the words despite both their lengthy times on Tatooine. Nevertheless, Leech’s meaning was quite clear as he drew a blaster on Han.

"Han should have shot first." Anakin remarked. 

Now thoroughly teamed up on, Han retreated slightly, trying his best to soothe and placate with little luck.

“Han didn’t pay them how many times?” Obi Wan blinked as he missed part of Leech’s accusation.

“Twice, I think,” Anakin replied as Han cocked his head, querying when was the second time?

At Obi Wan’s surprised look, Anakin shifted uncomfortably. “The numbers are basically the same as in slave creole.”

Obi Wan nodded in thanks, ready to carefully change the subject, but was saved when it changed itself. To his dismay, Bala-Tik’s gaze had fallen on where BB-8 had been cowering behind Han’s legs the whole time. Obi Wan grabbed at Anakin’s arm to get his attention.

“That BB unit.” Bala-Tik pointed out, eyes small and shining with greed. "The First Order is looking for one just like it. And two fugitives.”

BB shrank further behind Han, while Anakin turned to look at Obi Wan in horror. “They got it out that fast?!”

“Keep listening, Anakin,” Obi Wan told him, eyes trained on where Han was carefully schooling his expression into one of ignorance and disinterest. 

“First I’ve heard of it.” Han said after hesitating a second too long.

The gang members’ expressions didn’t change. One of the Kanjiklubbers gave the order to search the freighter. 

“Kriff,” Obi Wan said succinctly.

A second later: _"Fuck."_

"Obi Wan!"

“We forgot to watch Finn and Rey again.” Obi Wan realized, already moving to the hatch in the floor. “Force damn it.”

“No we didn’t!” Anakin protested. “We left them right where they were supposed to hide!”

Obi Wan turned on him with a tired glare. “Anakin, when have you known anyone to _ever_ stay put when you ask them to?”

Anakin paused for a moment. “Yeah, nope they’re long gone.”

Then the lights started to flicker, then go out, one by one.

The ghosts shared a look. “Wait a moment,” Anakin stated. “I think our runaways might have found a junction box.”

Obi Wan’s responding “So—“ was never finished, for it was at this moment Han Solo chose to open his mouth and say the absolute worst thing anyone could possibly say at any time.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

Both ghosts went stone still with fright as the Force proceeded to light up like someone had ran an electrical current through it at the saying of the cursed phrase that always, always, _always_ meant trouble. 

“Han, why?” Obi Wan sighed.

Anakin pursed his lips. “Well, now we’ve got ourselves a guaranteed shitstorm.”

Obi Wan groaned again, running a hand over his face. “Just go make sure a rathtar hasn’t eaten Rey or Finn.” 

Anakin shot off a sarcastic salute, disappearing on the spot, and leaving Obi Wan to watch both gangs aim their guns at Han and Chewie.

Now, for someone who proudly proclaimed himself to be as Force Sensitive as a dinner spoon, Han Solo seemed to be blessed. No one else since the Jedi had Han's unbelievable ability to weasel his way out of situations that should, by all accounts, have killed him multiple times over.

Or, perhaps it was just the case that the rathtars were Force Sensitive themselves, for once again, as soon as one of the ghosts mentioned one—

The corridor burst into screams, gunfire, and the metallic shrieking of the full-grown rathtar who had emerged from the darkness to grab two unfortunate Death Gang members. 

Obi Wan, who had most certainly _not_ been startled by the appearance of the monster, reflexively ducked flailing tentacles and slipped through the panicking gang members after Han and Chewie, who had seized the moment of chaos and fled.

Anakin appeared in an empty corridor, the sounds of the rathtars attacking echoing down the halls. He just hoped Han and Chewie were alright. The floor hatch beside him flipped up, Finn and Rey crawling out cautiously.

“No, stay in there!” Anakin hissed as they completely ignored him to creep down the hall.

“Seriously, do not move towards the chaos!” Anakin exclaimed at them, pointedly choosing to ignore his own hypocrisy in that statement. “What’s wrong with you?”

Of course, Finn and Rey stumbled right around the corner into full view of a rathtar fighting struggling gang members.

“I told you!” Anakin yelped, mouth quirking briefly into a smile as Finn took Rey’s hand to lead her away.

The smile only survived a couple more frenzied footsteps before—

_”Finn!”_

_Are you_ kidding _me?!?_

Anakin swore profusely in Huttese as Finn was ripped screaming away from Rey by a lucky tentacle. 

“No! No, no, no! Drop him, you overbloated slimy wormfucker!” Ducking around in front of the beast, Anakin made himself as obnoxiously bright in the Force as possible. “Hey, ugly! You want to follow me! Come on!” He raced down the corridor away from Rey, praying he could influence the more mentally-malleable animal enough to follow his footsteps instead of just eating Finn on the spot like it had the others. 

Judging by Finn’s continued cries of terror, it seemed to be working so far.

As Anakin began to panic at how he was going to get the rathtar to actually _drop_ Finn, the Force finally seemed to be in his favor. A hiss and bang went off behind him, followed by the rathtar’s earsplitting shriek of pain. One of the blast doors had been shut on the beast’s tentacle, and Finn, thank the Force, had ended up on the other side.

Anakin gingerly moved through the writhing rathtar— fuck, he _hated_ these things —and to the other side where Finn was yanking the severed tentacle off him. 

_Ew..._

Another stroke of luck sent Rey hurtling around the corner, blazing with relief for Finn, Obi Wan on her heels and glaring at Anakin.

“I believe I specifically asked you to make sure no one got eaten.” 

“I,” Anakin sniffed, “was doing my best!”

Obi Wan’s eyes glittered. “Playing tigg with the rathtar?”

Anakin reddened. “No! I was— hey, where the kark were you, anyway?”

“Trying to help Rey close that door!” Obi Wan shot back. “You’re welcome.” 

“Yeah, well…” Anakin chose to remain silent as they raced back to the _Falcon_.

It was Obi Wan’s turn to swear as they spotted Han helping a struggling Chewie up the _Falcon’s_ ramp, Finn and Rey stepping up the pace to get to them. 

“You make sure Finn and Chewie don’t kill each other, I fly up front?” Anakin asked his partner, already making a beeline for the cockpit.

“I’m worse at healing than you are!” Obi Wan yelled back at him, by now quite tired of all the uncomfortable backseat flying, before turning with a sigh to where Chewie was decidedly _not_ having Finn’s help. 

When Anakin scurried into the cockpit, Rey and Han were leaning over the console. Anakin scoffed at them, itching to fly. “Oh, _now_ we have time to notice the fuel pump problem.”

As Rey fixed it, Han leaned back in the pilot’s seat. “Watch the thrust,” he told Rey. “We’re going out of here at lightspeed.”

Anakin drew back in disdain. “Not with the compressor on the hyperdrive, you aren’t! That stress will rupture the cooling board. Not an option.”

At this moment, one of the rathtars decided to give the front windshield a full kiss, complete with teeth and tongue. Emphasis on the teeth, by the sound of the crunching noises on the glass.

Anakin recoiled with a gag. “Okay, that’s gross. Actually, you can probably keep the ship together? Let’s find out.”

“Hang on back there!” Han called.

“No problem!” Obi Wan and Finn roared back in equally strangled tones, Chewie’s pained noises near drowning them both out.

“Don’t forget the compressor.” Anakin told Han as he tried to take off.

Han did indeed forget the compressor.

Anakin let out a put-upon sigh as Rey reached out and flipped it, giving Han a shy smile. “See Rey, this is why I should adopt you.”

Han’s mouth made a jerky half smile at her, before pulling the lever and the _Falcon’s_ windshield grew gradually brighter as chunks of the rathtar peeled away in an almost morbidly fascinating way, revealing the neon-white jetstream of hyperspace taking the ship into her arms and spiriting them away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have a wee bit of angst in this chapter cuz this is only a little bit cracky. But more communication!!! Talking things out!!!!! And as for languages, I know it's canon Obes is basically a human protocol droid in terms of languages, but I think Anakin would know a decent few based on sentients he interacted with regularly. Also speaking of language, Wookiepedia says Kanjiklub were former Hutt slaves, which I mentioned the weird Huttese dialect as there is no information on what language Leech is actually speaking. I will have the next one up by next Thursday or sooner, pinky promise!!! A comment would really make my week as this one's been hellish!


	9. Local spirits Dead On Their Feet (please let them rest)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! And it's on time! Woo!

As the _Falcon_ took off, Anakin held his breath, Rey and Han seeming to do the same thing as they all stared at the ship’s console.

No flashing lights.

No alarms.

No sparks.

A few more heartbeats.

Still nothing, save the warbling hum of hyperspace around them and the commotion from the lounge as Finn tried to fix Chewie’s wound.

Anakin made a face. “There’s no way everything’s going to hold,” he told the two living beings present.

Obi Wan chose this moment to peek into the cockpit. “The Force is not cooperating to let me do anything for Chewbacca; I’m useless back there.” Looking around at the tension on everyone’s faces, he frowned. “Well, the ship doesn’t seem to have a million and one things shouting at us to be fixed or we’ll die. What’s our problem, then?”

Anakin sighed, starting to speak when the Force gave both ghosts a very insistent nudge. Anakin shot a quizzical look at Obi Wan, who shrugged helplessly back at him, just as confused.

Obi Wan sent a tentative probe out into the wider web of the Force, searching for the source of the disturbance. “I feel like there’s something that we’re—“

The Force gave a _twang!_ like a broken string instrument, there was an odd hooking sensation from behind both their navels, and both ghosts found themselves very insistently yanked out of the space the were currently existing in.

* * *

It was very disorienting, Anakin decided, as one minute he had been standing in the _Falcon’s_ cockpit, and the next he was lying in a dark room, location undetermined. He registered a body sprawled half on top of him with an extremely pointy elbow smushing uncomfortably into the side of his face that he identified as Obi Wan. “Mrrgh,” Anakin complained through the elbow, using his arm not pinned by body weight to push it out of his nose.

Obi Wan groaned, holding a hand to his still-spinning head. “Ugh. What in stars’ name was _that?_ ” Leaning back to try and stretch, he promptly dug his other elbow into Anakin’s gut. “Oh hello, sorry. Didn’t see you down there.”

“Obviously,” Anakin said, shoving his partner fully off him. He sat up and looked around, blinking away the last of the dizziness. They lay in a shadowed corridor, bland blackness of the walls and buzzing of circulated air that was prominent in government buildings and other bureaucratic areas.

What was most prominent, however, was the cloying chill of the Dark Side that permeated the surroundings, sending both ghosts’ hackles up.

“This isn’t the _Finalizer_ ,” Anakin observed, trying his best to concentrate despite the head rush.

“No, Starkiller.” Obi Wan said. When Anakin turned to ask him how, Obi Wan simply pointed at a set of elaborate doors they both recognized from past visits as the audience room for the so-called Supreme Leader that only the First Order’s biggest toy possessed.

Anakin wrinkled his nose. "Oh, Death Star 3.0. Much better. It's been fully operational for a while now, should we check again to see if they're planning on using it anytime soon so we can warn someone?"

"Who would we warn?" asked Obi Wan.

"Leia." Anakin said instantly. "She won't talk to me, but she probably will to you, especially if it's about exploding planets."

"That's a very good point." Obi Wan said. "Let's move somewhere closer to the intelligence area, maybe we can find something this time."

"Good plan." Or, it would be, if they could move. Both spirits shared looks of astonishment and consternation when after attempting for a solid minute to dematerialize, they found themselves stubbornly rooted to the same spot in front of the doors. 

“My question,” Obi Wan continued, peevishness clear in his voice, “is why and how we were both so unceremoniously dumped on this contraption and apparently are forbidden to leave.”

“Well something tells me the ‘why’ has to do with Lord of the Sparkly Bathrobes,” Anakin retorted. "We're outside his place, after all."

Obi Wan ignored him with great effort. “What kind of power, though,” he pondered, “could find us and just dump us here on a whim? My senses say it’s the will of the Force, but it doesn’t make any—“

He was cut off as Anakin bit out a curse. “What? What is it?”

Fidgeting with discomfort— of karking course They would be involved —Anakin struggled to find the words. This was so _weird_ , why was this his life? Er, afterlife?

“You know how sometimes the Force can be more… present than usual?” Anakin began, hating everything.

Obi Wan huffed. “Yes, Anakin, I do know, I was a Jedi too. Don’t dawdle.”

“I meant present in the same way that _I_ am present. Like _that!_ ” Anakin spat, scowling at the floor and refusing to say anything more.

Obi Wan stared uncomprehendingly at him for a moment, before realizing “Oh. _Oh._ ”

“Oh.” Anakin agreed. “They sometimes,” he hesitated. “Sometimes they tell me things, give me warnings. We haven’t talked recently because they are a Lot and I do not want to deal with them, but I’ve been sensing them kind of with us this whole time, and I think they wanted us to listen to whatever’s going on in that room for some reason.”

“Well, give them my regards next you see them,” Obi Wan said, trying to move past the subject as he knew it made Anakin uncomfortable. “So that means through the door for us, then?”

“Yup. Can’t wait to see the Great White Raisin again.”

“Clever. Are you sure you’re okay to—?”

“I am clever thank you. Yes, Master, I am fine. I’ll behave.”

“You will?”

“Mostly.”

“Oh, great.”

They phased through the door and Anakin immediately let out a disgusted snarl.

Obi Wan threw an arm out to restrain him from doing… well, basically anything he would normally do when angered. “Easy, Anakin.” _Guess we’ve gone too long without seeing that shriveled bastard,_ he thought privately. _Pity, I was enjoying it._

Snoke, in all his holographic, rotted glory, was looming over the subdued silhouettes of General Hux and the former child he had manipulated and destroyed, Kylo Ren. Each time Anakin thought he had gotten his absolute loathing for this monstrous creature under control, and then he would see him again, sinking his talons even further into Ben, _his_ Ben, and Anakin’s hatred would come back, more blistering and enraged than before. Sometimes, Anakin thought he hated Snoke more than he ever did Sidious— no, that wasn’t truthful. The galaxy had produced many horrors and Anakin had faced many of them, hells, he had been one of its worst, but nothing, no one, could be worse than Sidious. Not ever. Not to Anakin.

Snoke came close, though. Sidious was an evil dick who ripped Anakin’s family apart, but Snoke had seen the haphazard, uneven pieces that had been restored, added to, replaced, and painstakingly put back together while getting dragged through hell and back and had come out stronger than ever. Snoke, the bleached, wrinkled Sith-wannabe in a golden burlap sack, had seen this, taken this family and smashed it against the floor.

_”Anakin.”_

The red haze of fury lifted from Anakin’s vision to find Obi Wan standing in front of him, gripping his shoulders roughly and shaking them, barely concealed fear clouding Master’s eyes. Anakin distantly registered the sensation of old burns blooming and vanishing across his body and the horribly familiar icy flame that was tickling the back of his mind. _Oops…_

How embarrassing. He hadn’t had a relapse in a while. They didn’t happen often, but every once in a while a cold feeling would wash over Anakin and he would need some time alone, retreat into the obscure depths of the Force, stare into the void he had clawed his way out of and laugh, scream, cry, let the chaos of everything that he did and everything that he was, had been, and would be wash over him and strip him to the bone. He’d burn all over again and come out of it with a measure of the balance he had never been able to find in life. Kind of fucked up, really.

Anakin tried to send Obi Wan a reassuring smile. “Sorry, I’m fine now.” _Shit._ He winced at the distinct echo of Vader in his voice, clearing his throat and trying again. “I just needed a moment.”

Given that the frown line in Obi Wan’s forehead had only deepened, Anakin doubted his reassurance had done the trick.

Obi Wan started, “Maybe we should—“ but Anakin cut his concern off with a nudge as Snoke began to speak. Obi Wan glared at him, still alarmed as Anakin had been physically flickering, his aura growing Darker all the while, but consented to listen to what the Force had sent him to hear, resolving to deal with his constipated, traumatized idiot later.

“The droid will soon be delivered to the Resistance, leading them to the last Jedi.” Snoke intoned. “If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will rise.”

“Damn right,” Obi Wan muttered despite himself, Anakin shooting him an approving look.

Hux began to try and take responsibility but Snoke interrupted him, demanding a change in plan. Eyes narrowing calculatingly, Hux seized the opportunity to start promoting his Death Star 3.0.

Anakin curled his lip at the posturing. “Don’t be so proud about copying someone else’s plan, sleemo. Blowing something up won’t make your dick bigger or fix your daddy issues.”

“Can we please focus on the fact that our fears are confirmed and they are actively preparing to use this monstrosity?” Obi Wan hissed at him. And then, because he couldn’t help it, “Daddy issues?”

“Mmhmm,” Anakin nodded. “I knew his father in the Empire, nasty piece of work. No wonder Junior’s so unpleasant if that was what he had to look up to.”

Obi Wan hummed in agreement as Hux took time to sneer at Kylo while making his departure. “He does seem to dislike others vying for power.”

“Wouldn’t be where he is in the Empire,” Anakin told Hux’s retreating form.

Obi Wan quirked a brow. “You didn’t have personalities like that then?”

Anakin snorted. “Of course we did. I’m just saying he wouldn’t be so high up. Not with guys like Thrawn or Tarkin around.” A pause as he grimaced. “Or me. I, ah, don’t think I would have liked him.”

Obi Wan cringed at the conversation rolling back around to Vader, but fortunately, Snoke decided to open his mouth again, giving Anakin another outlet to brood at.

“There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?”

Both ghosts shivered, the knowledge that the Dark Side was aware of the massive shift in the Force Yoda had sensed not surprising, but worrying nonetheless. 

Snoke went on to mock Kylo about it being Han Solo, his father, who was carrying the droid now.

Obi Wan sighed. “Oh blast it, the gangs tipped them off. I was rather hoping the rathtars would just eat all of them, violent as it may be.” 

Anakin didn’t even respond to Obi Wan’s opening, mind swirling with thoughts of the pleasant times spent kneeling at Sidious’ feet as he too was taunted over former loved ones. 

_Are you thinking about Kenobi again? Yeah, he nearly killed you and stuck you in that suit, but there’s no need to get so_ personal _about it, you whiny bitch._

 _Oh, Skywalker’s apprentice is alive? How nice, guess we better recruit her or destroy her, what does it matter to you, why are you hesitating, don’t tell me you still_ care? 

_Skywalker has a son now? Perfect, we can use him, but let’s hope he’s not as spineless and weak and pathetic as his father was. Of course_ you _aren’t like that, are you Vader? No? Good boy._

_Hey, did I mention your wife today? Your dead wife? The wife you murdered, that dead wife? Remember her? And how you completely failed her? Think about that, but not too hard, alright? Alright._

“That’s it, we’re leaving.”

Once again, Anakin was jolted out of his dark musings as Obi Wan had now grabbed his arm and was physically dragging him away from Snoke’s platform and after the retreating figure of Ben.

Anakin flushed. “Sithspit. I missed what they were saying.”

“Nothing much. Kylo swore off any remaining feelings for his father, that he ‘would not be seduced’, and so on.” Obi Wan finished the sentence with air quotes and an eye roll. “Hardly anything we didn’t already know, and nothing that warranted such a rude summoning.”

“He really said ‘seduced’? Like, as in seduced back to the Light? That makes no sense whatsoever.” 

“Right? We use ‘seduced to the Dark Side’ because it makes it tempting for you, makes it easy. Staying on the Light end of things is harder because you actually have to try and do the right thing.”

“Yeah, yeah, I read the pamphlet.” Anakin fell silent, scowling at the ground. No, Obi Wan was _not_ having him fall into a sulk for the rest of the day, thank you.

“How about we head back to the _Falcon_?” Obi Wan suggested. “I think we’ve spent enough time in this dismal place for one day.” 

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard since we got here,” Anakin agreed, only to hesitate. “Wait. Will the Force let us?”

“It better,” Obi Wan said. “Or I will be forced to have stern words with It myself, even if you won’t.”

Anakin gave a light chuckle. “That, I would like to see.”

“Well you might just.” Obi Wan sniffed. “Come now, let’s take our leave. Who knows what’s happened while we were gone.”

Anakin groaned. “Don’t even joke about that.”

Obi Wan just shot him a grin in response, took his hand, and pictured the deck of the _Millennium Falcon_. 

* * *

Thankfully, no unpleasant yanking sensation followed this time, and in a matter of seconds they were where they wanted to be. Obi Wan could practically feel the moment his muscles started to relax from the lack of Darkness around him.

The cockpit was still silent, Rey and Han seemingly maintaining their anxious vigil over the controls.

Anakin relaxed slightly. “Thank you, universe.”

The lounge was noticeably louder, a pained roar trailing out of it for emphasis.

“—just hold still?” Finn’s frustrated voice followed it. “I don’t want to cut you when I cut the bandage, so if— ow! Hey!”

Chewie bellowed back a scathing insult.

Obi Wan frowned. “That’s strange. Finn was trying to measure and cut the bandage before we left. Is Chewie really giving him such a hard time?”

Anakin paused his overview of the controls, an idea striking him. He moved back to check the chronometer he had passed over. “Hey, Master? I don’t think this changed since we left either. Look at the time.”

Obi Wan leaned in to examine the chrono, stroking his beard pensively. “How peculiar. It seems the Force decided to make up for grabbing us like that by making sure we didn’t miss anything while we were gone.”

“How thoughtful,” Anakin grumbled, definitely not secretly impressed or thankful. Not at all.

Another loud complaint from Chewie finally roused Han from his chair.

“You.” He pointed at Rey. “Keep an eye on this and don’t touch anything. I’m gonna head back there, make sure the kid’s treating Chewie right.”

Rey nodded, wide-eyed.

“Watch out for the electrical panel,” Anakin told her. “I’m not liking the readings on the—“

A sharp pop and a hiss interrupted him, followed by a rumble that shook the whole ship. Seconds later, an alarm went off, then another, then another, console lighting up like fireworks.

Rey jumped, Han swore viciously, and Obi Wan just turned to Anakin with a deeply unimpressed stare. “You just had to say something.”

Anakin made a noise akin to that of an angry Lothcat, stomping over to the controls. “It was going to blow eventually!”

“Yet it refrained from doing so until you opened your mouth.” 

“Why don’t you close yours?”

Rey and Han scrambled to adjust levers and flip switches and turn nozzles, talking over each other all the while. Anakin hovered over them, assessing the damage and trying to figure out how to fix it. “I _told_ you guys the compressor would put too much stress, but nobody listened!”

In the background, Finn was still struggling with Chewie, calling rather desperately for assistance. Han just roared back that if he hurt the Wookiee there would be hell to pay.

“The only way to stabilize the hyperdrive is to do a complete bypass,” Anakin said. “But I don’t think Rey even knows how!”

“Wait,” Obi Wan told him, noticing Rey perk up when Anakin said “bypass”. She jumped onto the seat of her chair and started fiddling with the upper panels.

Anakin watched in shock. “Is she going to—?”

Rey jerked her arm as if twisting something. 

The alarms stopped.

Han turned to look at her in astonishment. “What did you do?”

Rey gave a happy laugh, seemingly amazed with herself. “I bypassed the compressor!”

Anakin exhaled, leaning against Obi Wan. “Isn’t she great?”

When Obi Wan didn’t respond right away, Anakin gave him a questioning look. “Sorry, I’m just thinking.” Obi Wan said. “I was surprised when she seemed to take my suggestion about the door on that rathtar, but she listens to you too. I didn’t think she could hear us yet, that can take time.”

“Not just hear,” Anakin corrected him. “I swear at times she’ll turn and look right at me, like she can almost see me too. I didn’t know whether that was just because the Force is weird around me or not.”

“Luke was able to hear me almost directly after I died, but it took him about two years to fully see me and have a conversation,” Obi Wan said. “You know how your power is, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Rey feels pretty close to it. It makes sense for you too to have some sort of connection.”

“Oh, great, I’m sure that’s just what she wants, Darth Vader in her head.”

“Knock it off, Anakin. Let’s go see how Finn and Chewie are.”

The ghosts moved into the lounge area, Chewie finally bandaged up and peaceful, Finn fiddling with the holochess set. Han was leaned against the wall across from them, eyes focused calculatingly on the two younger people.

“So, fugitives, huh?”

“See,” Obi Wan said. “He can’t resist helping them. Even if it wasn’t for Luke and Leia, he cares too much about those in trouble to ignore them, no matter what he says otherwise.”

“Sap,” Anakin muttered, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. It was about time Han came home.

Rey had explained the First Order was after Luke’s map, introducing him as Resistance and herself as “just a scavenger”.

Han gave Finn a skeptical once-over—

“Hey, he’s trying his best!” Anakin protested.

—before turning to BB-8. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The little droid rolled forward and projected a glowing blue piece of a star map.

“Couldn’t make it easy for anyone, could you, Luke?” Anakin murmured.

Obi Wan scoffed. “Now what would be the fun in that?”

After Han commented on the map’s incompletion and the fruitless search for Luke, Rey hesitantly asked, “Why’d he leave?”

Han’s face shadowed. “He was training a new generation of Jedi,” he said softly. “One boy, an apprentice turned against him, destroyed it all—“

“Let me guess, his name was Kylo Ren and he killed your son, Ben Sol—“ Anakin yelped as Obi Wan pinched him viciously in the side. Rubbing at the soreness, he turned to sheepishly face his master’s glare. “Sorry. Bad joke.”

Obi Wan pointed a finger at him. “You figure out how to casually drop the fact that your loved one is a karking Sith Lord into the conversation without frightening anyone, _then_ you can make that joke.”

He turned his back on Anakin’s grumbled “he’s not even a real Sith…” to listen to Han state the rumors about Luke going to search for the first Jedi Temple.

“The Jedi were real?” Rey breathed, Finn earnestly listening in.

Han stared off into the distance. “I used to wonder that myself,” he admitted, a hint of disbelief on his face like not even he believed what he was saying. “Thought it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, magical power holding together good, evil, the dark side and the light.” Han now stared directly at Finn and Rey, intensity on his face that wasn’t there before. “Crazy thing is, it's true. The Force, the Jedi, all of it. It's all true.”

Obi Wan chuckled. “Oh, how the times have changed.”

Anakin made a questioning noise and Obi Wan elaborated. “On the flight to Alderaan, I had Luke doing saber drills with a practice drone. Han came in, looked at the ancient weapon of the Jedi, laughed, and declared that he didn’t believe in— what did he call it? — ah, _’hokey religions’_ , I think it was. He didn’t think he needed anything besides a good blaster at his side.” 

Anakin barked a laugh, deciding to push his luck. “A blaster? How _very_ uncivilized,” he teased in a perfect imitation of Obi Wan's accent.

Obi Wan made a face. “Hush, you— and I do not sound like that!”

“Sure you don’t.” Anakin winked, heading off to join the living passengers in the cockpit as they arrived at their mystery destination.

“I don’t— Anakin, are you alright?” Obi Wan stopped before he could run into Anakin’s back. Anakin turned to face him, any trace of his amusement from just moments ago gone and replaced with a worried expression.

“I’m getting a feeling again,” he said. “It’s Ben.”

Obi Wan’s arm shot out to clamp around his arm like a vice. “Oh no. The Force isn’t going to just go spiriting you away when—“

“No, not like that!” Anakin interrupted, face pained. “He’s calling me.”

Obi Wan's heart dropped. “Anakin,” he tried. “You _know_ it won’t work…”

Anakin flinched. “Well, it might this time! Luke never gave up on me, and he shouldn’t have believed in me in the first place. I want to be there for Ben. Just… just in case.”

Obi Wan felt his resolve crumble in the face of Anakin’s wide blue eyes. “You’re doing a good thing, Anakin. I just don’t like seeing you hurt.”

Anakin felt a little warmer, giving Obi Wan a lopsided grin. “I know. But I have to do this. Give me five minutes.”

Obi Wan nodded, still unhappy. “I’m coming to get you after.”

Anakin was already turning around, taking a deep breath, and focusing on where the voice was calling to him.

* * *  
Anakin appeared in Ben’s dark walled quarters on the _Finalizer_ and walled himself up behind a protective layer of the Force to shield himself from all the… Dark stuff. Touching it, it brought back things he’d rather stay dead and gone. He winced upon realizing where he was standing; having visited him doing this before, Anakin only needed the sight of his grandson’s masked head bent in reverence to know exactly what he’d find if he turned around. 

Well, Anakin definitely wasn’t turning around. He didn’t want to see that _thing_.

“Hello, Ben,” he whispered, trying to extend a tendril of Light out towards the raging black storm, only for it to disintegrate immediately on contact. Damn it.

“Forgive me,” Ben’s mask rumbled.

Anakin shook his head. “I can’t do that yet, Ben.”

“I feel it again, the pull to the light.”

“That would be me, bud.”

“Supreme Leader senses it.”

“He wants to keep you leashed.”

“Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way.”

“I’ve shown you nothing, but I could show you so much if you just _listened to me_ , Ben come on…”

“Show me, Grandfather…”

“I’m trying.“

“…and I will finish what you started.”

 _”Not fucking this—“_ Anakin gasped as Ben rose and strode directly through where his grandfather had been crouched beside him. A gaping wound throbbed in Ben’s Signature where the slimy darkness of Snoke oozed out of it.

Anakin hated it.

He wanted it _gone_ , wanted it to kriffing die and never come back.

He wanted to end it.

Growling, he summoned all the energy he could, releasing it with a primal scream at the back of Ben’s head, hoping to just fucking blast the damn leech off, he had enough power, _he was the Force._

Of karking course, since Light power could not penetrate the Dark, not by force alone, it rebounded, slamming into Anakin and sending him toppling over. He found himself staring up into— oh great, there was that thing he didn’t want to look at —the skeletal husk of that thrice-damned mask, that prison that had trapped him, he couldn’t _breathe_.

_Oh, shit._

Anakin swore as he felt his lungs fill with fire, his skin shrivel and wither, there went the feeling of one leg, and he was cold, so cold. Gathering up his weakening strength, he pictured, as hard as he possibly could, closed his eyes, and fell…

* * *

The second Anakin’s presence registered in the space he was occupying, Obi Wan knew there was something terribly wrong. He whirled around and bit back a curse.

Anakin was swaying on his feet in front of him, everything about him… flickering. His robes would suddenly be an ashen suit, the whisper of a flickering cape. Half his face was sunken and stretched with scars, he was missing part of his hair, and when Obi Wan looked into his desperate eyes, they were an alarming shade of _not entirely blue_.

“I fucked up.” Still Anakin’s voice, thank the Force, if with a heavy rasp to it, like he had breathed in smoke.

Obi Wan took a deep breath and opened his arms. Anakin made a choked noise and rushed into them, burying his face in Obi Wan’s shoulder. 

“Pro tip:” Anakin mumbled into his collars. “Don’t just kriffin’… _throw_ the Force at the Dark side. It doesn’t like it and then you just end up breaking your shields like a moron and have to stare at the stupid Vader mask he keeps in a pile of ashes…”

 _”Anakin,”_ Obi Wan sighed, because of _course_ Anakin would try something like that and put himself in danger. He ran fingers soothingly through curls that thankfully seemed to be growing back to their normal thickness and regaining their sheen.

“Seriously, ashes!” Anakin exclaimed, calming down a significant amount but still finding the need to ramble. “Of his _dead enemies,_ I mean, what the hells? Dramatic little punk! I never did that. And why ashes, why do we have to set everything in the galaxy on karking fire?”

Obi Wan hummed an acknowledgement and just kept holding him, holding him until the scars faded away and his temperature steadied, and when he tilted his head to meet his apprentice’s gaze, he was relieved to only find tired blue.

“We alright now?” Obi Wan queried, brushing a curl out of Anakin’s face.

“Guh.” Anakin planted his face back into the shoulder it was occupying. “I’m just gonna stay here a bit longer.”

Obi Wan clucked but said nothing, looking over Anakin's head to see Han making the preparations to drop out of hyperspace. “Take your time, Anakin. Take your time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So again, some more angst for you because Kyle Ron is the Literal Worst and Anakin is a recovering ex-Literal Worst who can't always deal with things at the moment. I switched around the scene at the end where Kylo's talking to the Vader mask if you didn't notice, it's a couple scenes later in the movie, but until Rey's rescue on Starkiller the Resistance and First Order run seperate stories on basically the same timeline so I figured it wouldn't be that big a deal.
> 
> I know popular fanon is that Anakin's Obi Wan impression is laughably horrible, but my personal headcanon that I will stand by is that no, he's lived with him so long, he absolutely has nailed the accent and the mannerisms and it drives Obi Wan nuts, not that he'll ever admit it's accurate, oh no.
> 
> *shakes tin can* A comment, good readers? A spare comment, any comment?


	10. Maz Knows All (which makes everyone Very Uncomfortable)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just barely on my weekly deadline, but I'm taking it!!! Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

As Anakin and Obi Wan took a moment’s breath for the first time in what had to be two days, the _Falcon’s_ console trilled, signaling the hyperspace drop and reminding them that the adventure wasn’t anywhere near over. 

“Here we are,” Han told Finn and Rey. “Takodana.” 

Anakin looked up at that. “That’s not where the Resistance is. Why are we here?”

“Han mentioned something about going to see a friend who could help them,” Obi Wan recalled as the luscious, jewel-toned forest world zoomed its way into focus. “Who do you think it is?”

The words _“No clue,”_ were on the tip of Anakin's tongue, when a memory of long ago resurfaced from the depths of his mind and he realized that he did, in fact, have a very good guess.

Obi Wan recognized the look on his partner’s face and was about to press him for details, when Rey’s quiet voice interrupted.

“I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy…”

Rey’s face was completely open, brown eyes as wide and expansive as pools of fallen leaves from the trees they flew over, a wistful ache glimmering in them. 

“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Anakin told her, the image clear in his own mind of seeing the Temple gardens after first being brought there as a child. For the little desert boy who was still reeling in astonishment from the existence of the shimmering metallic ball of energy and light that was Coruscant, the lush, tranquil gardens radiating life from all corners led him to believe that this _had_ to be where every plant in the galaxy was kept, because how could there possibly be _more?_ Then there had been the trip to Naboo only days later, an entire planet of green, and his mind had been blown all over again.

A chuckle from beside Anakin told him that Obi Wan had seen his memory too. With a grin, Obi Wan sent another image across their bond: 

_The same boy walking with a group through the Nubian forest. He paused to pluck a low-hanging leaf from a branch off the path, looked around surreptitiously, then stuffed it in his mouth. The observer’s thoughts were tinted with bubbling amusement as the boy’s face screwed up comically and immediately spat the leaf back out._

Anakin whapped his Master in the shoulder. “I was _nine_ , you asshole. Leave me alone!”

“It was rather cute.”

“Cute? What’s cute about letting a nine year old eat a mysterious plant? I could have died!”

“And yet here you are.”

“I’m dead!”

“Not a dead nine year old though— well, not physically, anyway.”

Obi Wan let the rest go unsaid and Anakin resisted the childish urge to stick out his tongue and prove him right. Choosing to look out the window instead, he spotted a lake in the distance, grand castle on its shore. Well, if there was any doubt before about where they were going… 

“Hey Master, does the name Maz Kanata ring any bells?”

Obi Wan frowned, thinking on it for a moment before it came to him. “As in, ‘Pirate Queen of the Western Reaches’ Maz Kanata?”

Anakin nodded and Obi Wan caught on to where he was going with it. “And her base is on Takodana, of course, I should have thought of that. This will be interesting, Master Qui Gon met her once but I never got the chance.”

“I met her,” Anakin said, watching as they circled around the elaborate castle. 

Obi Wan blinked. “You did? When— oh. Right.”

Anakin understood his implications and shook his head. “No, no, before— before Vader. During the Clone Wars, actually. Ahsoka and I were tracking illegal spice traffickers we suspected were using a Mid Rim planet as a gateway to transfer their cargo onto ships headed to the Inner Core. The trail had just gone cold and when we updated Yoda and Windu, they sent us here to talk to Maz. She was…” Anakin hesitated. “…interesting, you could say.”

“That’s along the lines of what I’ve heard.” Obi Wan said. “But you aren’t telling me everything.”

Anakin avoided eye contact. “There’s not much else to say. She gave us a lead on where we would find the traffickers, she liked Ahsoka a lot, I’m ninety-eight percent sure she and Yoda were a thing at one point or another—“

“She _what?_ ”

“Oh yeah,” Anakin nodded, rather enjoying the horrified look on his Master’s face. He headed off down the hallway, loudly continuing. “She said she knew him, gave some compliments with _very interesting_ double meanings—“

“—Please stop talking—“

“—and she’s also a thousand year old Force user, they’d have a lot in common—“

“—I’m serious, An—“

“—and when we got back, _Yoda_ said something really weird, I think it might have mentally scarred Snips a little— mmph!“

 _”Enough.”_ Anakin found himself muzzled by Obi Wan’s hand. Oh, his master really did look a bit off-color. Whoops.

“I,” Obi Wan’s voice was dangerous, “do not want, nor do I need, another image in my head of how Master Yoda spends his free time unless it is in silent meditation or— no, actually only meditating is allowed. Nothing else. Am I completely understood?”

Anakin rolled his eyes but nodded, Obi Wan cautiously removing his hand. “Good.” Obi Wan said. “Now. Tell me why Maz liked Ahsoka and not you.”

“Hey!” Anakin protested, not liking the rerouting of the conversation one bit, but Obi Wan was giving the look that told him he had no interest in dropping it any time soon. “I didn’t say she didn’t like me, she liked me fine, I guess,” Anakin huffed.

Obi Wan made a “go on” gesture.

Anakin glared at him. “She just, she just asked a lot of questions, okay? Acted like she knew things when she didn’t, made assumptions out of nothing. It was weird!”

“So she unintentionally poked at one of your many hidden sensitivities.” Obi Wan translated. “You got defensive and bit her head off, as you tend to do when that happens.” 

“It was completely intentional! And rude!”

Obi Wan’s reply was cut off by Finn walking straight through him. 

Anakin ignored his partner’s disgruntled noises and took the opportunity for a subject change. “Hey look, it’s Finn, let’s see what he’s up to!”

Anakin grabbed Obi Wan’s hand and towed him off before he could protest, following Finn into the lounge area where Han was rummaging through a storage unit, gathering old blasters. 

“Hey, Solo,” Finn’s tone hinted distinctly more towards nervousness rather than the confidence he was probably aiming for. “I’m not sure what we’re walking into here—“

Han interrupted, giving Finn an unimpressed look. “Did you just call me ’Solo’?”

Finn faltered. “Sorry Han— Mr. Solo.” He went on, claiming that as a “big deal” in the Resistance, he should be made aware of any First Order sympathizers inside the castle. 

“Aw, Finn,” Anakin sighed. “Just go with BB to the Resistance. They can help you!”

“Brainwashed child solder, remember?” Obi Wan reminded him. “It’s not that easy. He’s still coping with the fact that he ran at all.”

Meanwhile, Han was not buying what Finn was selling.

“Listen, ‘big deal’, you’ve got another problem.” Han fixed Finn with a warning glare. “Women always figure out the truth.” He pressed a blaster into Finn’s startled hands. “ _Always._ ”

Giving Finn another meaningful stare, Han turned off for the castle, leaving the young man watching after him guiltily.

Anakin barked a laugh. “Should have guessed that wasn’t going to get past Han’s banthashit meter.”

Obi Wan was looking distinctly more troubled. “Finn does need to tell Rey the truth, and soon. We can both sense the strong bond they’re already forming, and lies in relationships never end well.”

Anakin gave him a sideways glance. “And we would be the experts on that, now wouldn’t we?”

“Please,” Obi Wan snorted. “We practically wrote the book. ’101 Ways To Avoid Healthy Communication: The Idiot’s Guide.’”

Anakin snickered. “Finn probably took notes on the chapter where it talks about finding one of the only people in the karking galaxy whose opinions matter to you, but you’ve done some bad things, and then you _lied_ to them about the things, and now you can’t come clean because it’s been too long and the truth will hurt them, but the longer you lie the worse the truth is going to be, so you just keep quiet even though that’s not helping things at all, all because you can’t risk the person hating you for what you really are, hating you more for lying, and then they’d _leave_ you which you couldn’t handle—” _Aaand that’s enough emotional vomit for today, thanks for that!_ Anakin's mind chastised him as his mouth snapped shut, maybe never to open again, he wasn’t sure yet.

Obi Wan didn't respond for a moment. Then, hesitating, he put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “I often wonder,” he began cautiously, “what would have happened back then if we had been honest with each other, about everything. Would things have ended any differently?”

Anakin gave a shrug. “I like to think we’d have a happy ending, sappy as that sounds.”

Obi Wan sent him a soft smile. “I do too.”

“Sap,” Anakin said affectionately, leaning into the warmth of Obi Wan’s hand. “But that happy ending? That’s what I want for Finn and Rey!”

“They certainly deserve it,” Obi Wan agreed. “They’re good kids.”

“And they'd be a huge help to the Resistance!” Anakin said. “We already know Finn is brave as hell, he’s smart and good with a blaster! He could work with them, they could teach him how to lie, and he wouldn’t have to worry about hiding anymore! And we know Rey is literally overflowing with untapped potential. Obi Wan, I really think these two could bring Luke home!”

“As students?” Now Obi Wan sounded slightly dubious. “After everything?”

“Luke just doesn’t know because he’s ignoring everything, if they actually show up on his doorstep it might at least get his head out of his ass. And someone needs to help Rey control her powers now that she’s not hiding on Jakku. People will notice, the First Order…” He trailed off, face darkening.

Obi Wan shuddered in agreement. “And since she can’t see us yet, Luke is her best chance.”

“Right,” Anakin said. “Hey, speaking of?”

“I think I heard her go outside,” Obi Wan offered.

They both flickered off to find Rey and met her watching the sun over the lake, Han at her side and gesturing at a blaster she held in her hands.

“You’ve got a lot to learn,” Han was telling her. “You got a name?”

“Really, Han, you didn’t ask before?” Obi Wan said disapprovingly. “Sith knows you just waltzed in and announced yourself to them, the least you could do was learn their names.”

“Horrible manners,” Anakin agreed in mock-seriousness. 

Obi Wan elbowed him and Anakin wrinkled his nose at him in return.

“Wait,” Obi Wan stared closely at Han’s rambling about another crew member. “Is he offering her…?”

“Are you offering me a job?” Rey asked, eyes widening.

“Watch it, Solo.” Anakin pointed a finger at Han. “I already called dibs on adoption. You come back to your wife and the Resistance, help Rey find Luke, I _may_ consider sharing.”

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “ _Anakin._ ”

“I’m serious!” Anakin insisted.

Obi Wan chose to ignore him and watch Rey, who was no longer looking excited. “If you were, I’d be flattered,” she told Han, voice small. “But I have to get home.”

Anakin facepalmed. “They aren’t coming back, Rey!” Honestly, how was that stupid desert shitheap _still_ managing to haunt them?

“Maybe she was closer with this family than it appears?” Obi Wan suggested, not really believing his own words.

“Then they’re dead.” Anakin said bluntly. “Face it, no one who truly cared about their kid would leave them alone on kriffing Jakku long enough for them to cover an entire AT-AT wall with tally marks.”

“I know,” Obi Wan admitted, heart growing for Rey as Han told her it was a shame, Chewie kind of liked her.

Rey hesitated as he walked off, face clearly torn.

“You don’t want to go back to Jakku, Rey.” Anakin told her. Rey tensed up, whirling around to scowl directly at where Anakin was standing. He yelped in surprise, taking a step back, then flushed and stepped back forward when Obi Wan had a suspicious coughing fit.

“Rey?” Anakin said her name loudly, giving her a wave, but Rey didn’t seem to see whatever she thought she had sensed. Staring at where the ghosts were standing a moment longer, she turned around and headed off after Han, who was now calling Finn and BB-8 out of the _Falcon_.

“Amazing,” Obi Wan murmured, giving Anakin another amused glanced as Anakin glowered at him and walked off to catch up with the group.

Finn was asking Han why they were here again. Han responded that it was to get the droid onto a clean ship, pointing out that the First Order was probably tracking the _Falcon_ by now and they needed Maz if they wanted to get BB back safely.

“Still sharp as ever,” Obi Wan observed. “He’s not wrong.”

Anakin made a dissatisfied noise. “It would be better if he was on that ship with BB. If the _Falcon’s_ being tracked, he and Chewie are in danger too.”

“That’s also correct,” Obi Wan said, humming in interest as Han called Maz an ‘acquired taste.’ “I am very excited to meet her.”

“Good for you,” Anakin muttered as they went through the main entrance into the crowded hall. It didn’t seem to have changed any since Anakin had last visited, still dimly lit and packed with species of all kinds sitting at tables or chairs, gambling, drinking, talking over or hidden by the music playing in the background. No, wait. He was fairly sure the strange sensation he felt immediately after he crossed the threshold was new. 

A glance at Obi Wan told him the feeling was mutual. “Am I… missing something?” He shook his head to try and clear it. “I feel like I need to be looking around.”

“There’s a lot of eyes in here,” Obi Wan reasoned. “Chances are, there’s someone who would be very interested in the droid with the bounty on its head.”

Anakin’s eyes were flicking around suspiciously. “Yeah, but that’s not it. It’s almost like a pull in my gut.”

Obi Wan was looking around too, and the sight of something small and orange with a pearly Force signature climbing a table caught his eye. “Anakin, is that—“

“ _Han Solo!_ ” the being boomed, silencing the room instantly. 

“That’s Maz,” Anakin whispered unnecessarily.

“I can see that,” Obi Wan whispered back as Han greeted her tentatively.

“Wasn’t I right about her being older than death?” Anakin continued as Maz made her way over towards them. “Look at all the wrinkles! Now imagine that and Yoda—“

Obi Wan choked, jerking away from Anakin’s snickering face. “You disgust me.”

“Yeah, well…” Anakin paused, cocking his head. “Okay, this is driving me crazy. Say hi to Maz for me, I’m going to find whatever that disturbance is.”

“Wait a min—” Obi Wan reached out but Anakin had already disappeared. 

“Can’t stay still for five seconds,” Obi Wan muttered to himself as Maz appeared in front of them.

“Where’s my boyfriend?” she demanded.

Obi Wan’s brain helpfully supplied _Yoda_ , and he had a second of extreme nausea before Han replied that Chewie was fixing the _Falcon_. Obi Wan relaxed slightly, resolving to find some bleach to drown his brain and then Anakin in.

Maz smiled mysteriously. “I like that Wookiee. I assume you need something. Desperately. Let’s get to it.”

As Maz led the group off, the Force danced around her, bobbing and weaving with her odd movements and singing through the necklace of beads she wore. It was obvious this was a dance between very old friends, and Obi Wan watched with intrigue. He would very much like to talk to her; who even knew what she had seen, what she had experienced, what knowledge could be gained from her counsul. 

What Obi Wan was not prepared for was Maz’s casual, “An additional welcome to my more… invisible guests.” Obi Wan nearly leaped right out of his skin when the old woman turned and stared directly at him while saying it, giving him a nod of greeting. 

“Uh… thanks?” came Finn’s confused reply as Obi Wan remembered himself, more than glad Anakin hadn’t been there to see his fumble, and offered Maz a polite bow. “Forgive me, Lady Kanata. We are well met.”

Maz huffed a laugh. “ _’Lady’…_ ” Han cleared his throat awkwardly and Maz turned, flapping her hands dismissively at him. “Yes, yes, I’m helping you right now. I do hope that everyone can stick around.” The last part was said with a wink in Obi Wan’s direction. 

“I hope not,” Obi Wan heard Finn whispering to Rey. “Sooner we all get far away from where anyone can track us, the better.”

Rey blinked. “Back to the Resistance, you mean?”

“Communication,” Obi Wan urged.

Finn’s eyes suddenly found the floor very interesting. “Yeah. The Resistance. Are— are _you_ going to the Resistance base?”

Rey’s face fell. “Finn…” She took his hand, startling Finn into meeting her earnest eyes. “I want to. Truly, I do, you’ve been very kind to me, but…” She exhaled a frustrated breath, seemingly unable to put words to her emotions.

Obi Wan twitched. This was actually rather painful to watch, unable to interfere as he was.

“No, no I get it.” Finn was obviously aiming for a smile and only partially succeeding. “We all need to go where’s best for us.” He nodded, as if convincing himself of a decision. “Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Rey agreed glumly.

“Yeah,” Obi Wan deadpanned, entirely unimpressed.

The group settled themselves around the table Maz had led them to, the hostess ducking off to have a word with a service droid for a moment. When she was done, she gave everyone present, dead and alive, an analytical once over. “So. Out with it. What do you need?”

Han shifted in his seat, leaning over the table. “This droid we have with us,” he began. “What do you know about it?”

BB warbled uncertainly as Maz swung out of her seat to give him a quick appraisal. “I can do basic droid repairs, but I’m no master mechanic,” she informed Han. “If that’s what you’re looking for, there are a few people here I can recommend—“

“Maz!” Han interrupted, jaw tense. “I meant—“

“—I can recommend a few people,” Maz spoke right over Han, “but, I can’t guarantee they wouldn’t be more interested in the price the First Order has put on a droid just like that one.”

Obi Wan’s respect for the woman went up another notch as Han sat back in his chair, caught off guard. Maz’s face never lost her placid smile. “Now what can you tell me about _that_ , Han?”

Rey and Finn shared a concerned look while Han sighed, rubbing his temples. “I ran into the droid and these kids. The droid has information the First Order wants.” Han lowered his voice, looking around warily before he spoke. “A map.”

Maz leaned into Han’s face. “Elaborate,” she whispered, eyes narrowed, Force swirling around her.

“A map to Luke Skywalker!” Han hissed. “It’s one half of the map to find Luke and it is in that droid!”

“Ah.” Maz withdrew, wide smile now on her face. “Now I see.” She then turned away from Han to accept some plates from the droid offering them, arranging the food on the table.

As if on cue, it was at this moment that Anakin Skywalker decided to burst into view in all his dramatic glory, startling Obi Wan for the second time in less than five minutes, and swept an accusing finger at Maz. “She has my lightsaber!”

 _“What?”_ said Obi Wan, still trying to calm the heart rate he didn’t even really need. “Anakin, she can see us!”

Maz gave Anakin little more than a passing glance. “Speaking of,” she murmured.

“Good!” Anakin declared, moving closer to the old woman. “Hey! Where did you find that saber?”

Obi Wan grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. “Don’t be an ass. She’s rather busy at the moment if you haven’t noticed.”

Anakin growled, bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently. “But Master. My _saber_.”

“So you’ve said, and I must confess I’m rather confused.” Obi Wan told him. “An explanation would be nice.”

Anakin heaved a put-upon sigh. “So you know how I felt like something was drawing me in when we got here? Well, I followed where the feeling wanted me to go, and then I started to hear _whispering_ , which, really weird, and it led me down into this dark basement she has. There was an old wooden box, and whatever it was was definitely in there. I opened the box and there’s _my lightsaber_ inside. My Jedi one!” Anakin faltered at this, glad he had already had his mild breakdown over the rather… _stabby_ memories associated with that particular blade upon first seeing it. 

Obi Wan had frozen at the end of Anakin’s story, immediately stretching his senses out to look for what he had unknowingly brushed aside after the initial odd sensation. Normally he would have been irritated with himself for failing to sense something that important, but this time he gave himself a pass as the object in question was one he had specifically trained himself to ignore. For almost twenty years, that saber had resided in another box hidden away in a shack in the middle of the Jundland Wastes and Obi Wan had learned early on to tune out its haunting siren call for the sake of his remaining sanity. There were the bad days, where temptation proved too strong, and he would go to it and hold it, listen to its heartbreak, or worse, to its _memories_ , and end up crying. Again.

“I guess we should probably say it’s Luke’s saber, not mine,” Anakin continued sheepishly. “He did more good with it than I ever did.”

“No,” said Obi Wan firmly. “You built it. The saber you summon now is its copy. You will always be a part of that blade, just as much as Luke is.”

“Lot of good it’s doing either of us now,” Anakin muttered. “How’d she even _get_ it is what I want to know. Last time I saw it was…” He trailed off, both ghosts shifting awkwardly as they remembered just exactly how Luke had lost it and how it may have slightly been completely Anakin's fault. 

_Wait a minute._ Luke hadn’t just lost the saber— “Oh _ew_ , does that mean she’s keeping the remains of Luke’s hand somewhere around here too?”

Obi Wan blanched. “Now that is just disturbing. Why would you even think that?”

“My grandson keeps my glorified asthma mask on a pile of ash made out of his slaughtered enemies. I’m not taking any chances when I find out someone else is hoarding my stuff.“

” _Hoarding your—_ Anakin, she kept it safe and from falling into the wrong hands!” Obi Wan exclaimed. “You owe her a thank you, if anything.”

“Who are the right hands though?” Anakin challenged.

A clattering interrupted them, and they turned back to the table to find Maz crawling across it towards an increasingly unsettled Finn, intent on her overly-magnified face. 

“If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in different people,” Maz intoned. Obi Wan heard Anakin’s breath hitch as her massive goggles flicked over to stare straight at him while saying this. “I’m looking at the eyes of a man who wants to run.”

“Balance.” Anakin told her softly. “Last time you told me I craved balance.”

Obi Wan had turned his gaze to Finn, watched as his face grew stony, eyes hardened with past trauma. “You don’t know a thing about me,” Finn spat. “Where I’m from. What I’ve seen.” He went on to insist that the First Order would slaughter everyone and that they all needed to run.

“Running won’t solve your problems, Finn.” Obi Wan told him. “Goodness, how many people have I said that to recently? Luke, Finn… alright, maybe just two, but it certainly feels like more.” 

Both ghosts made dismayed noises at Rey’s confused shock when Finn took Maz’s offer on a crew that could help him escape to the Outer Rim.

“What Finn needs is some damn time to think things through!” Anakin said. “This is all going way too fast, and he needs time to figure out what in the hells he actually wants. He’s a brainwashed child soldier, when has he ever gotten to make his own choices before this?”

“Anakin, that’s a horrible thought, but I think you’re right.” Obi Wan felt the need to protect Finn grow even more, ugly connotations to other soldiers he had known long ago whispering in the back of his mind.

“Gee, thanks,” Anakin said sarcastically. He did hope Finn managed to figure things out though; Anakin remembered feeling like he wasn’t allowed to make his own choices or control his own life at that age too. Maybe he wouldn’t have tried to change things up by assisting in genocide and enslaving himself to a Sith Lord for twenty five years if he had been given some time to think… 

No, the whole Sith Lord thing happened because he thought too much, got stressed, and panicked. Finn didn’t seem like a panicker, so he’d probably be fine. Probably.

As they turned to follow Finn and Rey away from the table, Obi Wan put a hand on Anakin’s chest, gently halting him. “You should stay and listen to what Maz has to say to Han. I’ll keep an eye on the young ones.”

“But Finn can’t hear you as well!” Anakin protested. “What if he leaves? I can convince him to stay.”

“You said it yourself, Anakin, Finn needs to decide things for himself.” Obi Wan said, walking off. “All we can do is hope he does the right thing.”

Anakin was still unhappy, but he remained where he was. Maz had just adjusted her goggles again. “So, who’s the girl?” she questioned Han.

“What, you can see right through Finn, but you can’t read Rey, huh?” Anakin snipped. 

Maz ignored him. 

Han shrugged his shoulders absentmindedly. “Possible new hire, she found the droid.” He hesitated slightly before adding, “Kind of reminds me of Luke. Just a little.”

Maz’s smile grew. “So you’re not completely ignoring your senses. The Force is strong in that one; it’s apt you’d use a Skywalker as a comparison.”

There was that look at Anakin again. 

“What are you getting at?” Anakin muttered.

“Yeah, well,” Han’s voice was bitter. “Not like there’s any other Jedi in the galaxy.”

“The Jedi path is far from the only one the Force offers,” Maz reminded him.

Now Anakin cut in. “Yes, but it’s the one that could help her. Luke could help her if she found him, and she could help him too!”

Han was thinking along a different route. “Yeah, I know, the Dark Side,” he bit out, voice tight. 

“Another option,” Maz suggested. “Though again, there are many more. I myself wield the Force from time to time, and _I_ certainly need no lightsaber.”

Okay, that _had_ to be on purpose.

“Then why do you have mine?” Anakin demanded, exasperated. “If you don’t need—“

_Wait._

Anakin froze as realization struck him, allowing him to hear Han say, “Okay, this is all very interesting and mystic, but I don’t see your point, Maz.”

_Rey._

“Give Rey my saber.” Anakin blurted out. He paused, at first having no clue where _that_ came from, but the more he thought about it, the more perfect the idea seemed. He _knew_ there was already a strange sort of connection between him and Rey, two unusually powerful Force-wielders from desert planets. Hells knew he wasn’t using that saber anymore and Luke had his own now. Even if Rey wasn’t going to be a Jedi, he was almost positive she was going to be key to finding Luke, and she might as well have something that could help her fend off unwanted Dark attention.

“Give Rey my saber!” Anakin repeated himself to Maz, who actually turned to look him right in the eye and scold him. 

“It’s about time.”

Han looked at Maz like she was crazy. _”What.”_

Maz turned back to Han with an innocent smile. “Oh, nothing, just some ghosts of the past. I was simply discussing the Force as I’m sure your wife is using it to look for you.”

As much as Anakin wanted to stick around and listen to Maz guilt Han for not going back to Leia, he was too excited about his decision. He moved across the room to where he could see the familiar glow that was Obi Wan. He skidded to a halt next to him, ready to tell him his plan, when he saw the downcast look on his Master’s face.

Heart dropping, Anakin followed Obi Wan’s stare to see Rey standing in the middle of the floor looking lost, eyes trained on a familiar jacket that was passing through the castle doors.

“Damn it, Finn.” Anakin groaned. Kriff. He honestly hadn't thought Finn was going to leave.

“He finally told her the truth,” Obi Wan said helplessly. “She wasn’t even that upset, just wanted him to stay.”

Anakin was still slightly stunned, all he could think to say was “Guess it’s a good thing I told Maz to give my saber to Rey then.”

Obi Wan turned to him in surprise. “You did what?”

Anakin nodded. “Yeah, I—“

The Force gave a roar, Obi Wan staggering at the sudden pressure convulsing around him. When the waves settled, he looked up and—

“Oh for Sith’s sake!”

Anakin had been called away once again, and Obi Wan once again felt the not-entirely-rational urge to fight the Force itself for being an _everloving pain in the ass_.

Growling to himself, Obi Wan caught Rey moving slowly back through the castle, dazed look on her face. Obi Wan went to move after her and promptly swore as he walked through Maz, who had seemingly materialized out of nowhere right in front of his legs.

Maz gave a rasping chuckle. “Well met indeed, Master Jedi.”

Obi Wan felt his face warm, but Maz was already continuing, pivoting on one heel and beckoning for the ghost to follow. “I see your friend has already made his leave. Let’s take a walk, shall we? I have the feeling Rey might need our help.”

* * *  
This time, Anakin was slightly more prepared and hit the ground in a tuck and roll when he landed. 

The headrush that followed still caught him off guard however, which somewhat dampened his plans of springing back to his feet with the intention of giving the Force a very hearty _What the fuck?_.

As his eyes adjusted to the sudden extreme brightness, Anakin registered he had landed in a crowd, the pulse of a large amount of lives bunched into one space buzzing in his head.

No, not in a crowd, he corrected as he noted the shiny black boots currently in his face, but in front of a crowd. Vision finally cleared, Anakin identified the pair of boots as belonging to one General Hux. 

_Great, I’m back on Death Star 3.0…_

Slowly turning around, Anakin cursed under his breath at the sea of white helmets in front of him. Images of the past threatened to swamp his brain, but he shoved them back down irritably, focusing on the here and now, here and now, here and now if it killed him. Again. 

The ground below him seemed to hum, a large beast slowly awakening.

_There’s been an awakening. Can you feel it?_

What were the troopers waiting for? Why was it so silent? Why did it feel like the entire world was holding its breath?

“Today is the _end of the Republic._ ”

Hux’s voice.

The feeling like the entire Force was on a tilt, ready to fall at the slightest breath.

The rumbling of the beast increased, a shiver of anticipation.

Anakin knew this feeling.

He knew what the end of the Republic felt like.

He knew when he was standing on billions of tons of kinetic energy.

He knew the rubber-tight tension of when that energy was about to be released.

He knew the signs of a man who was about to pull the trigger.

Anakin _knew_.

“Oh no…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Valentine's Day, I present to you my crack ship from Hell: Maz/Yoda. No, I will not be taking constructive criticism and y'all can pry this ship out of my cold, dead, unyielding fingers. (Anakin's voice: Yoda FUCKS Obi Wan's: he does _NOT_ )
> 
> Maz is one of my underrated faves, she's seriously cool, and I figure in her thousand years of life she has to have met some Jedi, and I think it would be really cool to have seen an interaction between her and Anakin pre-Vader. 
> 
> So Death Star 3.0 is ready to blow! Next chapter is gonna be a Force-trip, buckle up!
> 
> *insert more shameless begging for comments*


	11. a series of blasts from the past followed by one big BOOM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooop, update over two weeks late and no excuse besides the fact that I'm a piece of garbage who's bad at scheduling. This chapter is fun though because I've gotten to write the most scenes that I've created, not just pre-written ones where I'm writing reactions. I hope you guys like it!

“Master Kenobi, I presume?” asked Maz as her and Obi Wan followed Rey across the crowded room and towards a more isolated back corner— towards where the buzzing call of Anakin’s lightsaber was coming from, now that Obi Wan was thinking about it.

Obi Wan blinked in surprise. “You presume correct, madam.”

“Maz is fine, I assure you. We don’t really do formality here.” As if to back her up, someone tossed a can of some sort of alcohol straight through Obi Wan’s head to another person on the other side of the room. Maz chuckled at Obi Wan’s grimace of discomfort.

In return, Obi Wan offered her a grin. “No titles for the ‘Pirate Queen’?”

Maz’s black eyes glittered. “Only from strangers and shameless flatterers.”

Obi Wan laughed. “Fair enough. Now, I must confess it has been some time since I’ve been recognized by anyone, for obvious reasons. That begs the question…”

“How I knew who you were?” Maz finished for him, looking up to meet his eyes bemusedly. “I realize it’s been awhile for you, but you must remember that you used to be quite the celebrity.”

“‘Celebrity’ is stretching it.” Obi Wan said. “And anyways, that was over fifty years ago.”

“When you’ve lived over a thousand years, a simple fifty is a heartbeat.” Maz retorted. “For me it feels like only last week I was listening to Hondo Ohnaka wax poetic about his adventures with you as he stood on the table and drank all my ale.”

Obi Wan blanched. _Hondo. How perfectly charming…_ “I assure you,” he began warily, “whatever you might have heard—“

Man cut him off with a rasping cackle. “I’m messing with you, Master Jedi, you can relax. I did hear a few stories of you from some of my crowd, but I promise most have come from my Jedi visitors. Your Master Jinn was very entertaining the first time we met. I appreciate that after he passed he still finds the time to visit once in a while and tell me stories. How are his travels?”

Obi Wan quirked a brow. He hadn’t realized his Master had kept in touch with Maz. “He’s doing great,” he said. “Still puttering around the galaxy trying to decipher the mysteries of the Living Force. I was with him out on Ilum about two weeks ago; we were studying the reemergence of the crystals there. As of now, I believe he’s hanging around Castilon, can’t remember why. I’ll give him your regards.”

Maz smiled. “Many thanks. He’s mentioned his talented apprentice many a time in our conversations, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Obi Wan ducked his head with an embarrassed grin. “Many thanks,” he echoed.

“Of course. Now,” Maz’s look sharpened. “If you have any information on the whereabouts of Master Yoda, I would be much obliged.”

“Uhh,” Obi Wan backpedaled in a very un-Jedi-like manner. He didn’t know how much Anakin had been making up, but he was fairly certain he did _not_ want to be going down the route this discussion was taking. “I’m not sure…”

“Oh, pish.” Maz waved him off. “The little green bastard’s ignoring me.” Her look at Obi Wan turned sly now. “Not to worry. He knows what he did. He’ll be back.”

Obi Wan made an involuntary pained noise as his mind suggested ideas he _absolutely did not want_. Force, he was going to kill Anakin when he found him. _Again._

“There she goes!” Maz abruptly— and thankfully —derailed the conversation by pointing at where Rey was cautiously opening a set of doors at the end of the hallway, revealing stairs leading down. “Now she’s found it and that’s your cue.”

“She can’t see me, Maz. I’m afraid I can’t do much for her.” Obi Wan told her as they followed Rey and BB down the stairs at a distance. He winced as the haunting cry of the saber brushed against his ears, echoing flames and screaming and infinite sadness. _Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up._

Maybe skirting around the topic of Maz and Yoda’s possible love affair wasn’t such a bad conversation topic after all…

Maz was still watching him as they reached the bottom and entered another hallway, and while she couldn’t possibly know what he felt, her old eyes shone with understanding. “That blade carries a heavy history, which I’m guessing you know better than anyone, Master Jedi. You know the burden the blade’s master will carry at their hip. She, its chosen new master, does not. She will have no idea when she picks up that blade.”

“She will need guidance,” Obi Wan murmured, observing as Rey reached the end of the second hallway and came across another locked door. “So she is to be a Jedi, then? If I’m to see her pick up the blade for the first time as I did Luke, if her strange connection to Anakin is strong enough for her to wield the blade in the first place, if she really is able to find Luke, then that means she’s meant to be trained? Restart everything for the third time?”

Rey lifted her hand to the door handle, and with a subtle sparking in the Force, the door unlocked and swung open.

Maz gave Obi Wan a quirked brow. “You tell me. You’re the Jedi. Now go, I’ll wait here.”

Obi Wan did not like cryptic comments when he wasn’t the one making them, but Rey was headed through the doorway towards the call of the saber, and he couldn’t help himself but be drawn in after it. He also did not like the uncertainty of this entire situation. He was supposed to be one with the Force itself, damn it, shouldn’t that grant him just a little more insight?

He took a brief moment to look around the room and see the various artifacts lining the floors and walls, and okay, maybe Anakin had a point about Maz being a hoarder, but— oh, hello there.

There it was. Perched innocently on a table in the center of the room— in a box that most certainly _did not_ remind Obi Wan of the one he kept on Tatooine —was the Skywalker lightsaber. Obi Wan didn’t know if Rey was seeing this, but to him the box appeared to be practically radiating the same electric blue energy as the blade itself.

It was magnetic, Obi Wan and Rey both being pulled directly to it. Obi Wan found himself holding the breath he didn’t need as Rey reached out very, very slowly, and opened the box. 

“Ah,” said Obi Wan, unable to say more with the pesky way his throat seemed to be closing up. How rude.

The lightsaber looked exactly as it did the day he had given it to Luke, its slim lines and sleek edges shining dimly. Obi Wan found himself mesmerized by the memories floating up and didn’t notice—

“Wait, Rey!”

_Shit!_

Rey was already moving to touch the hilt, and Obi Wan made to grab her hand at the same time her fingers connected. There was a pulse of Force energy from the saber, Rey’s own signature flared up in response, and Obi Wan found himself sucked into a flash of blinding white, hiss of a saber igniting roaring in his ears, and—

 

_”So, what do you think?”_

_Anakin’s face was illuminated in pale blue from the humming blade he was angling in front of him in short, demonstrative strokes. When he turned his head to look at Obi Wan, the light caught his eyes and turned them a brilliant, mesmerizing cyan._

_Obi Wan cocked his head, moving in closer to get a better look at the saber’s features. He knew Anakin had been working on this for weeks, and it had clearly paid off. “A practical design, I like it. So you don’t plan on losing this one, then?”_

_“Hey!” Anakin thumbed his new saber off to waggle the hilt at Obi Wan. “I’m saying it right now, this saber isn’t going anywhere unless someone physically takes it from my dying hands.”_

_“How... you know, I was going to say 'responsible', but no, that's just morbid.”_

_Obi Wan received Anakin’s barking laugh in response._

* * *  
_In the heat of battle, Obi Wan barely registered Anakin calling to him, so when he turned towards his voice, Anakin’s lightsaber hilt nearly hit him in the face as it flew at him._

 _Breath catching, Obi Wan caught the saber, feeling the hum of wildfire and summer storms that was Anakin vibrating through the hilt. He had half a mind to scold his former apprentice about how Jedi did_ not _throw their weapon at people, but his ire faded back to worry as he once again looked at the sight of Anakin slumped against a wall, hand clutching the large gash on his side that was steadily bleeding out._

_Anakin rolled his eyes through the pain as he caught Obi Wan fretting. “Not like I can use it right now!” he yelled, wincing with the effort. “Give ‘em hell— and don’t get your hand cut off!”_

Did he seriously just say that?! _Resolving that they were going to have a_ talk _about that particular comment when this was over, Obi Wan shifted to face the approaching enemy, identical blue beams of plasma clutched in his hands, unwilling to give his foes a damn inch._

_It felt… right. His saber and Anakin’s together, as used to fighting side by side and watching each others backs as their masters, and as Obi Wan cut through waves of droids, he felt the connection more strongly than ever._

* * *  
_Obi Wan’s world was burning._

_Burning in every way possible, as the heat licked at his back and scorched his throat as he tried to breathe and got in his eyes in a way that would have hurt more if he wasn’t already crying._

_The golden-eyed creature in front of him snarled at him, lightsaber lashing out in an arc that would have taken off Obi Wan’s head had he not jerked backwards. Gritting his teeth, Obi Wan used the Force to shove him back a few paces, going for a swipe at the legs with his own saber. He felt as if his limbs were moving through sap, every action being dragged out of him and taking a little more of his heart with it._

_His lightsaber was still blue, Obi Wan faintly registered as their blades clashed again. Even with the sulfur eyes and the suffocating, screaming cloak of Darkness swirling around him, it was the mocking slice of clear blue sky trying to kill him that somehow managed to make everything all the more painful._

_After it was over, after limbs and tears and truths had been shed, lying open and broken on the volcanic sand, as Obi Wan ran back across the world of fire away from the end he couldn’t make himself bring, his side felt cold as ice._

_He couldn’t touch the saber that hung there, ignored the radiating waves of misery and fury, for even the slightest brush of contact and Anakin’s lightsaber_ screamed.

* * *  
_”Your father would have wanted you to have it.”_

_Obi Wan ignored the voice in his head screaming at him that he had absolutely no right to speak for Luke’s father. Instead, he focused back on what had been one of the few good things in his life over the past two decades, the bubble of sunshine and hope that was Luke’s Force signature._

_Luke’s bright eyes shone with excitement and wonder as he turned his father’s blade over in his hands. It wasn’t screaming, Obi Wan noted in relieved amazement._

And he looks so very much like his father, _the voice taunted, and Obi Wan couldn’t help but accept it, old, aching memories of another young blonde boy with shining eyes discovering the wonders of the Force._

_Obi Wan tucked that memory away. The lightsaber was Luke’s now, it had chosen him. He would use it to become the Jedi the galaxy needed. The saber would protect him, and one day he may even pass it down to—_

Rey?

_Wait, what?_

_Obi Wan blinked. That wasn’t quite right, he hadn’t known Rey at this point—_

This wasn’t that point. 

Obi Wan had already been here.

This wasn’t real.

He was only here because—

_The lightsaber!_

_Obi Wan went to look at Luke, but Luke had vanished, lightsaber he was holding now in Obi Wan’s own hands._

_A terrified cry sounded in the distance._

_Obi Wan started, getting to his feet and readying the saber he now held reflexively._

_The sound came again, and Obi Wan identified the voice as that of a young child. He tensed, recognizing the ramifications of what that meant to the blade he grasped, but he ignored it. Someone was in trouble._

_He made for the door to his hut, stepping out into the desert wasteland of Tatooine until he wasn’t._

_It was still desert alright, but this desert was not the one Obi Wan had just been, where he had stupidly been swimming in his own memories after letting the saber get to him, when he should have known better, when Rey had needed him._

_“No!” came a high-pitched scream. “Come back!”_

_Obi Wan found it had come from a hysterical young girl, struggling in the grasp of a burly older being who growled at her to be quiet. The girl ignored him, straining towards a point in the sky and sobbing miserably._

_Obi Wan took a second to notice it was a ship flying away that the girl was fixated on, and then took a longer second to spot the familiar trio of buns the child was sporting._

_“Rey?” Obi Wan breathed._

_As if he had summoned her, grown Rey suddenly was at his side, staring at the scene in front of her with horror in her eyes. At the sound of his voice, Rey turned to look directly at him and then they were both falling, falling into the pitch of a ghostly, snowy wood at night._

_Rey was hyperventilating now, and Obi Wan tried his best to get her to listen to him again, projecting calm towards her. “Rey, you need to focus. Listen to the energy flowing around you, and don’t fight it. You will drown if you struggle.”_

_Rey looked around wildly, and Obi Wan couldn’t tell if she had even heard him or not. Fuck, he felt useless. “This is just a vision, Rey, you’re feeling it strongly because the Force is strong with you.”_

_A saber igniting in the distance._

_Rey jolted, stumbling towards the noise._

_“You’re doing fine,” Obi Wan encouraged her. “This is a trial, and you just need to—“_

_He gasped, and Rey screamed as the shadowy wraith of Kylo Ren melted out of the shadows from behind a tree, Rey scrambling to run away._

_The world began to fade around them, and Obi Wan’s hand shot out to grasp Rey’s shoulder. “Easy, Rey,” he soothed. “It’s over, you handled it well. These are your first steps.”_

_There was another burst of light and—_

 

Obi Wan was crouched on the hard stone of Maz’s basement, Rey panting beside him. Maz herself was watching them further down the corridor, look of concern on her face.

 _Well,_ Obi Wan thought, _That went perfectly pear-shaped._

“What was in that?” Rey gasped. “I shouldn’t have gone in there.”

Maz’s eyes moved quickly to Obi Wan. “She had a vision,” he explained. “It didn’t go well.”

Maz nodded subtly before telling Rey of the lightsaber’s heritage, and how it had chosen her.

 _Chosen by the Chosen One!_ the voice in Obi Wan’s head snickered . He promptly told it to shut up

Rey was now insisting she needed to get back to Jakku.

Obi Wan’s mind brought up the distraught little girl. “Oh, Rey,” he sighed, realizing how deep her trauma ran.

Maz smiled sadly, saying to Rey that whoever she was waiting for was not coming back, but that Luke still could.

Obi Wan snorted despite himself as Maz went over the whole “the Force surrounds us, binds us, etcetera etcetera” spiel, and focused on Rey’s face as Maz urged her to take the saber.

Rey’s expression wavered.

“You can’t ignore fate, Rey,” Obi Wan whispered. “Don’t make things difficult for yourself.”

Whatever Rey had been able to hear from him before, she lost all ability now, for her face hardened and she brushed past him without a second glance.

“I’m never touching that thing again. I don’t want any part of this.”

She ran back up the hallway, headed for the stairs. Maz watched her go and sighed. “Did you manage to give her any guidance while you were in there?”

Obi Wan felt the shame of allowing himself to get distracted by the memories of his past rise all over again. “Not really,” he managed. “She was rather confused, I think she only could hear me once or twice.”

 _Not a complete lie,_ he told himself, refusing to feel guilty when Maz shot him a scrutinizing look. He just hadn’t exactly been able to find her until the end because he had been caught up in his own melodramatic banthashit he had thought he was over. 

“Well, we can only hope that once she takes some time to cool her head, she will be back.” Maz said. “She’s had a bad fright, but she’s a smart girl. She knows at heart what is the best decision for her.”

Obi Wan nodded. “The last thing I want is for her to be forced into anything. I’m just worried…” He faltered. “I’m concerned about what could happen, the longer she’s alone with her fear, with her anger and frustration. She’s so powerful, and to let that power get tainted when she doesn’t know how to fully control it…” Obi Wan hesitated, not wanting to say it, but knowing exactly just how bad things could get for a powerful Force wielder who let the dark in, memories all the more raw and painful from his recent trip into the saber. “She could be in grave danger, Maz. Trust me when I say I know the warning signs. You said she needs time, but I’m afraid there won’t be enough.”

Maz blinked at him. “Then go to her, Master Jedi. Make sure she always has an ally in the Light to help keep the Dark at bay. And if you can’t reach through to her, well, there must be _someone_ who can.”

Maz stared at him knowingly and Obi Wan got her hint. 

_Anakin._

Anakin could talk to her. Whenever he got back from wherever the Force had dragged him off to, Obi Wan would make him sit down with Rey and find some way to break through to her why he had given her his saber, and they could figure out what their connection meant, even if that meant writing words in the dirt if she couldn’t hear them.

_Wait, can Rey even read?_

Obi Wan shook his head. They’d think of something. Rey had to stay safe until she found Luke. The Dark Side would not steal another young soul on their watch.

He offered Maz a deep bow. “Then I must go find Rey. Thank you for your counsel.” He paused, before adding slyly, “Lady Kanata.”

Maz smirked, making shooing motions at him. “Oh, be gone with you!”

Obi Wan dipped his head and turned, racing halfway up the stairs and away from the call of the lightsaber before remembering he didn't have to walk, and focused on Rey’s face.

He dematerialized, and then…

…and then he was nowhere.

“What?”

* * *  
Anakin was shaking his head.

_Oh no, no, no, no…_

_Why didn’t we sense this? There’s no time to warn anyone!_

“The end of a regime that acquiesces to disorder!” Hux was snarling at his troops. 

“Oh, shut up, nerf-fucker!” Anakin hissed at him, getting to his feet and pacing angrily. They had known Death Star 3.0 was supposed to be able to blow up any planet from any distance as long as it had the right coordinates. The most obvious target would be Hosnian Prime, the seat of the New Republic. But there was always the chance…

Anakin made up his mind. Horrible as it was, it was way too late now to stop Starkiller from firing on its intended target, not unless there was some miraculous chance there was a Resistance fighter nearby with the knowledge of how to blow the damn thing up. 

Yes, that was where Anakin needed to go. He took another moment to look at Hux spewing his hatred out at his troops. Peaceful, one-with-the-all-knowing-Force A_____ might be, but he was never the best at setting an example. He sneered, leaned in, and spat right through Hux’s face.

It would have been much more cathartic if the spit had landed, but Anakin didn’t have time. He scowled up at the sky and jabbed a finger at it. “You better let me leave here, or I kriffing swear!” Anakin held his breath, focused on a pair of achingly familiar chestnut eyes, and vanished from the surface of Starkiller.

Anakin reappeared on what appeared to be a ship, and nearly collapsed with relief. Unless her shields were strong enough he had bounced right off them, she wasn’t on D’Qar. There had been no hints that the First Order had found the Resistance base, but then there hadn’t been anything about the First Order wanting to set off their new toy right karking now either. He would never be her father, but Leia was still Anakin’s child and he would do everything in his power to make sure she was okay.

A helmeted officer stepped right through Anakin at this moment, and he shivered from more than just the contact. He could sense her through the doors in front of him, he just needed a moment to prepare himself for the— probably short —conversation to come. 

After his death, Anakin had spoken to Leia exactly twice. The first time had been a quick meeting directly after Ben’s birth, in which Leia had told him that under no circumstances was Anakin to _ever_ talk to, appear to, or interact in any way with her son, or she would find a way to reach into the Force and kill him a second time. 

Anakin had agreed. He wouldn’t want himself anywhere near his kids either. When he was allowed near his kids, it ended up with exploding planets, tortured boyfriends, and severed hands. He’d leave Ben alone. 

The second time had been after Ben had Fallen. That conversation had been much longer and much more… complicated. Both times, Leia had called Anakin. He had never dared approach her first before.

As he was rather in a time crunch, Anakin quit dawdling, straightened his spine, and phased directly through the doors. Leia sat in a chair faced away from him, durasteel shields surrounding her as high and unyielding as ever. She didn’t even notice he was there. 

Anakin reached within the Force, felt the spark ignite in his gut and his body begin to buzz as it became a conduit for the pure energy he was siphoning out of the fabric of the universe. He focused his mind, shaping the handfuls he was grasping into a razor sharp spear. Narrowing his gaze, he aimed, tensed, and _fired_ , punching his energy through the veil separating the middle realm and directly through the weakest point in Leia’s shielding.

“Leia!”

Leia gasped, sagging in her chair at the sudden disturbance. She whipped around in her chair, look of incredulity on her face twisting into one of ice cold fury upon recognition of who was calling her, and within moments Anakin found himself on the business end of a blaster, which, understandable.

The lieutenant seated next to Leia had jumped, and was now staring at her commanding officer with a look of alarm. “General Organa?”

Anakin knew he had to speak fast, so he cut straight to the chase. “Starkiller is about to fire.”

Leia’s blaster arm didn’t waver, but her steely gaze shifted subtly to mild alarm. He had surprised her.

Even though it wouldn’t have done anything, Anakin was still more than pleased she hadn’t tried to shoot him yet, so he continued. “I was just there, they were about to start the firing sequence when I left. I’m fairly certain that their target is the Hosnian system, but there’s always the chance the Order could have found your base, and—“ Anakin stumbled just slightly. “I wanted to try and give you some warning, just in case.”

Now Leia’s eyes narrowed, lip curling into a sneer of disgust. All too familiar with that death glare from looking in the mirror, Anakin knew what it said: _So you’ve given me seconds at most. How thoughtful of you._

“General?” The worry was palpable in the officer’s voice. “What is it? What’s wrong?” 

Leia kept eye contact with Anakin. “Connix, notify home base to be on standby; we have a potential Code Rogue. And someone get me a direct frequency to our sources on Hosnian.”

Connix’s eyes widened and she hurriedly turned back to the console, adjusting her headset and turning dials.

Anakin and Leia were still locking eyes when it happened.

A loud, thundering roar pitched high and long—

_(It was if billions of voices had cried out in terror…)_

—and then the noise stopped, vanished completely.

_(…and then all were silenced at once.)_

The kickback hit, and Anakin crumpled, clutching at his head as the Force shrieked around him, wailing out in despair. He caught a look at Leia’s face, and it was no longer trained on him, but staring off into the distance, a look of dazed terror on her face he had seen before. Through the agony of his throbbing head, Anakin watched the years melt off Leia and they were suddenly back on the harsh, grey bridge of that first Death Star. A nineteen year old girl hung slumped in shock as she stared out at the dust that used to be her planet, tears brimming in her eyes. Her entire Force signature had screamed in pain, in hate, so much hatred, and if Vader hadn’t been walled up behind his own shields, he just might have spotted what he had overlooked before.

_It hadn’t hurt like this the last time!_

Anakin barely managed to berate himself that it served him right to feel the Force bleed now, after everything he had done, and managed to look up once more to meet Leia’s now startled gaze before letting go, falling back into the raging tempest and letting it take him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a LOT of flashbacks, boy howdy. The angst basically snuck in and hit me with a sledgehammer on this one, my dudes, cuz the thing about flashbacks is that all of these characters' lives objectively _Suck_ with a capital "S" (Lordy, please help these disasters), so it's hard to find happy memories. 
> 
> How'd you like the lightsaber vision? I've been rewriting it like five times cuz this is also the first time I've had to line up my Ghost!Obi with his (two lines of) canon dialogue. I hope it went off well?
> 
> So Death Star 3.0 has fired! This is a bit random, but does anyone think it's kinda funny how when JJ Abrams originally wrote TFA, he tried his Star Trek method of "inducing cheap angst by destroying a beloved planet" and tried to have Starkiller blow up Coruscant? Lucasfilms wouldn't let him (which I am glad because when I first watched TFA I thought it _was_ Coruscant and got Angry because that's ILLEGAL, JJ) and it just amuses me that JJ basically pouted and went, "oh yeah? Well if you're not gonna let me make that one go boom, I'm gonna blow up _FIVE JUST LIKE IT!_ TAKE THAT!"
> 
> I'm visiting home in a week and every comment means a kiss for my cat!


	12. Everyone is one with the Force and the Force is a Dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Slides in on Heely's two months late with Starbucks* Ok, so long story short, the end of the schoolyear was hell and mental health got in the way. I've typed up pretty much the entirety of this story now though and I'll try and let the chapters out on a one to two day schedule! If anyone's still following this, just know I have not abandoned it! Let's get going and Happy Revenge of the Fifth!

Obi Wan woke up among the stars.

Billions of tiny lights, spiraling around him as he drifted, glowing pinpricks smearing into jetstreams across his vision as his aching head did its damnedest to replicate the most horrendous hangover Obi Wan had ever experienced.

_Ugh… what?_

The last thing Obi Wan remembered before _it_ had happened was trying to find Rey, only to end up rudely deposited in some dark, random pocket of space within the Deep Force.

Luckily, he hadn’t had much time to become properly cross about it before the Force shattered around him and he dropped into nothingness.

As he fell, memories slipped through the blinding agony in his head of the only other times he had felt the Force’s unmitigated suffering in a way that even remotely resembled this; during Order 66, and again when Alderaan was destroyed.

 _Complete annihilation of all forms of life…_ Obi Wan had recalled dazedly as the pain continued for an undetermined amount of time before he felt a sensation akin to falling into a body of water and had blacked out.

So now he was here, wherever here was— he ignored the ice-cold feeling in his gut that told him he knew _exactly_ where here was —and the Force’s hurt had dulled to the pulsing throb of a raw wound, the scattered lights around him flickering in time with the pulses in a rather disorienting manner.

Gritting his teeth through the pounding headache— _honestly_ , was that necessary? —Obi Wan focused on his own movement and managed to turn his drifting into controlled flight, steering himself through the sparkling stardust. He shivered as he passed through some, remembering the old Jedi saying about all life forms containing the same chemical makeup as the insides of stars.

_Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return…_

What did this dust used to be? Where? _Who?_

Obi Wan wilted, unable to ignore what he was obviously looking at. He had seen this before, when Han Solo had brought the _Millennium Falcon_ out of hyperspace and into an asteroid field where Alderaan once was.

“I’d say we’re right where the planet’s core used to be.”

Neither Obi Wan's remaining nerves nor his headache appreciated being startled out of his skin at the sudden presence behind him. Whirling around revealed to him Qui Gon Jinn examining some glimmering flecks that were passing through his fingertips.

“Master Qui Gon!”

Upon noticing he now had his former apprentice’s full attention, Qui Gon offered Obi Wan a warm smile in greeting before his eyes flicked back to the trail of dust he was watching. “The center would have been instantly disintegrated, nothing left but stardust, so that’s here,” he continued, tracing a path in front of them with a long finger. “Any debris that remained intact would have exploded far outward.”

“Asteroid clusters,” Obi Wan agreed uselessly. “Nasty surprise for approaching ships.” 

“Indeed.” Qui Gon’s gaze softened as he caught something in Obi Wan’s expression. He moved closer, resting a large, comforting hand on Obi Wan’s shoulder. “I forgot you were on the other side of the veil the last time this happened.”

Obi Wan released a frustrated breath. “‘Last time this happened’. There was never supposed to be another Alderaan, Master. There was always the potential, but we had hoped…” He trailed off, words not coming to him.

“We had hope that the galaxy could be better.” Qui Gon finished for him, sad smile on his face.

“It can,” Obi Wan insisted, something fierce sparking inside him. “I know it can be better, have we not all seen the good in it?”

Qui Gon blinked in surprise. “Of course it can. The inherent goodness of the galaxy was never the issue. The problem has always been the galaxy’s tendency to take the wrong path, and for the few who can see the right one it is often a monumental task to drag everyone else back on course.”

“You’d think that ‘blowing up a planet’ wouldn’t be a path anyone would choose to go back down,” Obi Wan snorted. 

Qui Gon laughed humorlessly. “Oh they didn’t. They decided to blow up five, remember?”

Obi Wan whirled on him in horror. “You’re kidding me.”

Qui Gon looked at him oddly. “Didn’t you feel how much stronger the reaction in the Force was compared to last time?”

“I thought it was just because this time I was dead!” Obi Wan exclaimed. He wondered if it explained the migraine too. “It hit _five_ , that’s— Qui Gon, is this the entire Hosnian system!?”

“Unfortunately,” Qui Gon sighed, giving their surroundings another irritated look. “And the entire galaxy knows it. I was still on Castilon before the Force summoned me here; they were playing a live recording of the First Order declaring the end of the Republic and firing that monstrosity. Everyone saw this system die.”

“A warning, to those who would resist them.” Yoda’s sudden croak came from directly below them, and both master and apprentice jumped. Their remaining headaches did not appreciate the startling and Obi Wan was all too happy to commiserate with Qui Gon’s pained expression. He was a damn ghost; it was embarrassing so many people had been able to surprise him lately.

“Master Yo— “

“Shh!” Yoda cut off Obi Wan’s greeting with a swipe of the gimer stick at his shins. “Not so loud, would you? Have a headache, I do.”

Now with a sore leg to match the sore head, Obi Wan addressed the grandmaster with a grimace. “As do I. I assume it’s larger feedback from more planets being destroyed at once, as I don’t recall having this particular symptom the last time.”

“Partially,” Qui Gon chimed in. “I got a fairly nasty one when Alderaan happened. If you didn’t, I’d say it’s probably because being on this side of things, you’re one with the Force itself, you feel its pain more directly.”

“Oh. Wonderful.” Obi Wan muttered. 

“Unfortunately, as I remember it takes a little longer to go away until the Force is able to regain a semblance of equilibrium.” Qui Gon said. “Now that I think of it, you joined me here only about a day or so after Alderaan. Didn’t you complain about a migraine of sorts then?”

Obi Wan shook his head. “I wouldn’t know. Everything from crossing over to right after Yavin is still a bit of a blur.”

“I believe that is because you’re supposed to _rest_ after ascending to this level,” Qui Gon chided him. “Let your spirit recover after undergoing the dimensional shift. Not go immediately running off after the living and getting yourself involved in starship battles.”

Obi Wan met his scolding gaze evenly, entirely unrepentant. “Luke needed me.”

Qui Gon sighed. “So he did.”

“Speaking of,” Yoda butted in, breaking his silence. “Missing someone, are we not?”

Both sets of eyes fell on Obi Wan, who resisted the un-Jedi-like urge to loudly groan in exasperation. “You do realize that we aren’t connected at the hip, right?”

Yoda shrugged. “News to me, that is.”

Qui Gon did not resist the urge to let out an un-Jedi-like snort as Obi Wan glared at Yoda. “Anakin _was_ with me on Takodana,” Obi Wan said testily. “However, the Force has developed a rather irritating new habit of plucking him out of one place and depositing him somewhere else. He disappeared on me right before Starkiller fired.”

Qui Gon had developed a thoughtful expression. “You two were on Takodana? Did you meet Maz?”

“She was why we were there,” Obi Wan told him. “She sends you her regar—“

“Mention me, did she?” Yoda cut in, unreadable look on his face.

Obi Wan did _not_ make a choking noise as beside him Qui Gon’s face shifted into a pained expression that meant he was trying to hold back more laughter. Again, Obi Wan wondered why this was his existence. “Erm, yes, she did.”

Yoda broke into a grin. “Good! Very good.”

Obi Wan very much wanted the Force to swallow him up again.

Thankfully, Qui Gon took pity on him and redirected the conversation. “Why were you two seeing Maz? Did she know anything about the other piece of Luke’s map?”

Obi Wan stared at him. “Oh, right, you’ve been away, you wouldn’t have known. Let’s just say that Anakin and I have been having a _day_.”

Qui Gon rolled his eyes. “Care to expand on that while we wait for your apprentice?”

“I was planning on it,” Obi Wan shot back. _Impatient old gundark._

“Wait. Sure are we that come to us, Anakin will?” Yoda queried. “Or go look for him, should we?”

Obi wan paused, extending his senses and finding that he was calm, no sense of alarm for his partner’s missing whereabouts. “No, Anakin is alright, I can feel it. He’ll be with us shortly.”

Both of his companions nodded, trusting that he would know. 

“Now,” Obi Wan began, turning to face Qui Gon. “Everything started when Anakin saw that the Resistance had found the location of the other half of the map.”

* * *  
Anakin was feeling more than a little murderous for a ghost that was supposed to thrive on peace and harmony and being one with the Force and all of that poodoo.

After the world had crumbled around him and sucked him into a dark vortex of pain and chaos, he had found himself unceremoniously spat out into a very familiar pocket of the Deep Void, hands shimmering brightly in the way that told him his current form was not the avatar of his normal human body. 

“Oh no…”

**Hello, Anakin**

Anakin growled, squeezing his eyes shut through the blinding headache he currently had and refusing to open them to face what he knew he would be waiting for him. “You know, after all the shit I’ve been through today, you are _not_ what I want to be dealing with right now.”

A faint pulse of irritation around him. **You do realize I brought you here for a reason. The sooner you hear me out, the sooner you can leave.**

 _But I don’t_ want _to hear you out._ Anakin bit his tongue he didn’t currently have to keep from making the childish comment.

Cracking an eye open, he stared around the chamber of space he was in right now. 

Blackness as far as the eye could see, inhabited of millions upon billions of tiny glowing strands of every color of the rainbow imaginable. The strands squirmed and danced like tiny little worms, intertwining with one another and spreading apart, extending on and on into infinity. Each one emitted a soft light, creating a dizzying rainbow effect, with all rays angled towards and getting brighter as they reached a definite center, like star systems drawn to a black hole at the center of a galaxy.

This was the opposite of a black hole. All points led to a bright, shining, luminous cloud that pulsed and shimmered. Normal, mortal eyes would have most likely been blinded, maybe even burned up at just a glance, but being what he was, Anakin was able to stare at them with no problem. If he looked close enough, he sometimes felt like he could make out a face.

As of right now, the Force radiated an unbearable, unimaginable sorrow. 

Well over any sense of awe or deference, Anakin found he didn’t feel sorry for them in the slightest. 

“Why are you upset?” he spit at them. “You allowed this to happen.”

A loud, shivering rumbling that Anakin registered as a sigh. **Anakin,** they said. **I created all life. Do you think it doesn’t pain me to see it wither? I simply guide my creation down the path that will maintain balance. I did not—**

“You did not choose the destiny, it was prewritten, yeah, I get it, you’ve made that excuse before,” Anakin snapped. “Doesn’t change the fact that it’s still horrible and you made it happen, just like you do with everything else.”

A moment of silence. **Will you let me explain?**

Anakin gestured mockingly, fiery droplets dripping from his taloned hand. He decided he didn’t quite like the look of that and his hand shifted into something more human. “Explain away.”

 **Thank you,** they replied. **I called you here to make sure you know your purpose.**

“I thought my ‘purpose’ was to burn everything down and reset things, have Luke and Leia so they could build everything back up, and then die?” Anakin retorted, still stinging at the memory of the first time they had called him, after his death when he had been shocked and guilty and utterly lost, wondering _why him?_. 

He had been pulled into this liminal space and finally given an answer for who he was— what he was —and what his purpose was by this unholy, all-powerful Presence that expected him to be _grateful_ to them for his shit-show of a life. That expected _understanding_. There was a reason Anakin never came to seek them out.

Another sigh. Anakin grinned, or he thought he did. He was never going to make things easy for them. 

**That was your purpose,** the Force agreed. **And now, with your grandchild, the need for your line to reshape the galaxy is over. The task of leading it into a new age must fall to someone else. Your job is to guide that transition.**

“Luke tried to rebuild,” Anakin said. “So did Leia. You know what happened.”

 **Luke and Leia are triggering points, as is Ben,** said the Force. **They are not the ones meant to keep things in motion. As I said, it cannot be from your line.**

Anakin growled. “Then what? Then who?”

A flare of impatience. **I did not create you to be so ignorant. What have you been doing lately?**

Anakin raised a finger. “Okay firstly, yes, yes you did. That is absolutely your fault and I don’t appreciate your tone. Secondly, I’ve been trying to hold my _line_ , as you say, together so things don’t get even worse!”

 **So you’ve just been watching your line, then?** they challenged.

Anakin felt the light around him swell up defensively. “Alright, no, not entirely, but Finn and Rey needed my help—“ He cut himself short, mind screeching to a halt. “Finn and Rey. _Rey._ ”

A trickle of amusement. **Now he gets it.**

“That’s why I have a connection to her,” Anakin theorized. 

**It is.**

“Well, what does it mean?” Anakin asked. “What makes her so special? Is she like me or—?”

**That I cannot say.**

Anakin felt his entire being flame up alarmingly. “I thought you said you wanted to give me an explanation!”

 **And I thought I had already _explained_ to you that I can only tell you so much!** the Force snapped back. **No one is supposed to have more than a glimpse of future knowledge. Anything more could—**

“Change the balance,” Anakin finished with them in a sing-song tone. 

He looked down at his eldritch form and realized he was really quite exhausted by all of this. “Alright, so Rey’s supposed to be the next one to change the balance? Because if you end up throwing any of the kind of hell you threw at me at her, I don’t care who the kriff you are or what you can do, I won’t let it happen—“

 **Peace, Anakin,** they chastened. **That is not her path. She is meant to have a better sense of what walking the line between my Light and my Dark is. She will do great things, provided she has the right person to show her the way.**

Anakin scoffed. “I don’t really think I’m the ‘right person’ for anything, but if you’ve stuck us together, I’m not going to let her down. I refuse.”

 **I’m glad to hear it,** the Force praised, and Anakin wasn’t having any of it. 

“I’m not doing it for you,” he warned them. “I’m doing it for Rey. I know what it’s like to be in over your head and I’m going to make sure she has happiness.”

**As long as you’re doing it, it’s no matter to me how. It’ll all end the way it is supposed to.**

Anakin felt a chill run up his spine from the ominousness of that statement.

 **It will be a challenge,** the Force told him, **but you won’t be alone in this and neither will she.**

“Yeah,” Anakin agreed begrudgingly. “She’ll find Luke. And I’ve already dragged Obi Wan into this mess.”

**Do you really think he’d stay out of it if given the chance?**

“If he had any sense, he would. But he doesn’t, so…”

 **There you have it.**

Despite himself, Anakin felt a warm feeling inside at the truth of it.

The Force paused a moment, the glowing bright cloud shifting slightly. **I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned Finn. This is his journey too.**

Anakin slumped slightly. “I’ll admit I didn’t want Rey to be a part of this mess. I was kind of hoping Finn would be able to stay safe and out of it.” 

******Finn has a great and noble destiny,** the Force intoned. **He will have an important part to play in the upcoming events.**** **

“That had better not be a subtle ‘Finn dies’ hint,” Anakin said. 

******Now why would I do that?** ** **

“I’m serious!” 

******Anyway,** said the Force, blatantly sidestepping Anakin’s question. **That’s all I have for you. Do you know your duty?**** **

“I don’t take orders from you,” Anakin shot back. “I know the right thing to do though, and I’m ready as I’ll ever be.” 

******Then you are free to leave. There are those who are wondering where you are.** ** **

_Obi Wan,_ Anakin thought. He had kind of vanished on him back at Maz’s. 

“Thanks,” he grunted to the cloud as the rainbow strands started to swim around him in a dizzying spiral, feeling himself start to dissipate and his consciousness to grow drowsy. 

As Anakin was whisked away, he felt what was almost a cool palm brush across his forehead. 

******_The Force will always be with you, my son…_ ** ** **

_Fuck off,_ Anakin told it. 

* * * 

Obi Wan was just getting around to retelling the meeting with Maz to Qui Gon and Yoda when the Force throbbed around them. There was a breath and suddenly Anakin was stumbling out of the starlight, promptly tripping straight over Yoda and falling into a spinning somersault, going around at least twice before managing to shakily steady himself. 

“Helped the headache, that did _not_ ,” Yoda hissed, straightening his robes indignantly. 

Anakin’s head popped up, blue eyes wide and dazed as he looked around at his surroundings, squinting blearily. 

A soft “oh” escaped his mouth as he seemed to register where they were and what had happened. 

Anakin’s eyes went straight to Obi Wan’s, as it was meant to be, and Obi Wan could feel the turmoil and frustration radiating from him from where he floated 

Obi Wan offered him a comforting smile. “You’re a bit late, my friend. We really need to work on your timeliness.” 

Anakin made a complicated noise, and in a heartbeat he was in front of Obi Wan, pulling him into a tight hug. Obi Wan hugged him back, ignoring their audience. “Where have you been?” he murmured in Anakin’s ear. 

"First Starkiller,” Anakin mumbled back. “Then I went to go find Leia. Then—“ He hesitated. “Then, there was some… parental issues.” 

Obi Wan frowned. “Parental…?” 

He thought on it for a moment before he put it together. “Ah. I see.” He felt a small spark of anger on Anakin’s behalf. “You sure you don’t want me to come and tell them off.” 

Anakin chuckled, grip on Obi Wan loosening slightly. “I wish.” He straightened, pulling back so only his hands rested on Obi Wan’s shoulders. “The Force has plans for Rey,” he said seriously. 

Obi Wan pursed his lips. “That isn’t good.” 

“Well I figured that was rather obvious,” Qui Gon said, bringing himself and Yoda back into the conversation. 

Anakin turned to him, puzzled. “Huh?” 

Obi Wan narrowed his eyes at his old master. “Yes, I was wondering about that. I was telling the Masters of our latest adventure, and though he hasn’t said anything, I got the feeling Master Jinn knows more about Rey than what I’ve told him.” 

All eyes turned to Qui Gon, who twitched a shoulder. “No one asked me. But yes, I’ve watched Rey before.” 

“And this never came up before?” Anakin asked incredulously. 

“Why should I?” Qui Gon countered. “There are countless young Force-sensitives in the galaxy. Luke’s school was new and tiny and he could only find a fraction of a percentage point of them. Someone needed to at least notice these young ones, so I took it upon myself to find them. Rey was a particularly powerful one, so I’ve checked up on her more than once. But what more could I do? The will of the Force determines everyone’s fates, so I simply remained ready and waiting to see if anything came of her or any of the others. There was nothing more I could do.” 

Yoda hummed. “A good idea, Master Qui Gon, but wish I do that told us more, you did.” 

Anakin grumbled in agreement and Qui Gon dipped his head. “Of course, Master Yoda. I’ll report more of my findings in the future.” 

Obi Wan watched them, shaking his head in fond exasperation. In life, Qui Gon’s endless search for the mysteries and meaning of the Force had turned into a slight obsession, especially with certain prophecies. It had gotten him into more than a bit of trouble, but it had also gotten him here, the first person to ever succeed in becoming a Force spirit. He’d defer to his Master’s knowledge on this one. 

“So, do you know anything else about Rey?” Obi Wan questioned. 

“Sadly, not much more than what you already know,” Qui Gon told him. “She was around five years old and new to Jakku when I first found her. No family to speak of, though from her accent I’m guessing she’s originally from a Mid-Rim or Core world. Why she was put there, I don’t know, but I suspect the Force knew that faraway desert worlds were good places to hide strong Force-sensitives.” 

"They are _not_ ,” Anakin said. 

Qui Gon gave him a sideways glance. “Remote, and they let them develop their power on their own.” 

“I have trauma!” Anakin said. 

Qui Gon opened his mouth to argue, but Obi Wan had noticed his partner practically vibrating. “I think we should probably be getting back to Rey now,” he suggested. 

“Yes, let’s do that,” Anakin said quickly. 

Qui Gon raised an eyebrow, but didn’t fight it. “I have someone I wish to keep an eye on as well, but I’ll return to Ahch-To to see Luke soon. I wish to help in all of this.” 

“Talking to anyone, he still is not,” Yoda complained. “Got more of a response out of Dameron, I did. And see me, he could not!” 

Anakin froze. “Oh, _sithspit_ , Poe!” 

“It’s alright, Anakin,” Obi Wan assured him. “I explained what had happened and Yoda informed me that Poe is safely back with the Resistance.” 

“No thanks to you two,” Yoda shot back. 

“Yes, well…” Obi Wan faltered, no better at explaining himself than the first time he had told what had happened. 

“Uhhh,” Anakin offered. 

“I still can’t believe you two just left him unconscious under a parachute in the middle of the desert,” Qui Gon teased. 

“It was the Force’s will,” Obi Wan said stiffly. 

“He was fine!” Anakin protested. “I’ve walked off worse!” He shrunk slightly under everyone’s unimpressed stares. “Right. Well, I’ll be going then.” 

Closing his eyes, Anakin turned on his heel and was gone before anyone could protest. 

“Thanks for waiting up,” Obi Wan told the empty space he had been in a second ago. 

Obi Wan readied himself to vanish, aiming for wherever Anakin turned up as he discovered in the moment that he had no clue where Anakin had dematerialized _to_. 

Yoda’s “Obi Wan,” made him pause. 

He turned back to where the two Masters were watching him with concern. 

“You’ll keep an eye on him.” Qui Gon didn’t ask it. Obi Wan didn’t need him to clarify. 

“Still important, he is,” Yoda added. 

Obi Wan smiled at his old Masters. “I’ll be there.” 

Qui Gon grinned back. “Good. Now go.” 

Firing off a salute and a nod, Obi Wan went. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight, so this chapter gets deep into my opinions on the workings of the Force itself. I believe that the Force is a kind of sentient, all-powerful eldritch entity that created the galaxy. They are completely morally grey as they just push events forward in a way they believe will keep all parts of them balanced. 
> 
> I also went back and made Anakin a pure Force-baby as the prequels imply. I know it's very heavily implied in the Vader comic that Anakin was created by Plagueis and Sidious's Dark experimenting, but as it's not 100% proven or confirmed, imma politely toss that out the window as I Hate It. Making Anakin a Dark Side creation gets rid of all his agency in his Fall, instead of making it a mistake he made that he could have just as easily avoided, now his Fall seems inevitable because it's in his very nature and genes to be Dark. So I got rid of that and made him a sort of Force demigod, as that fits his character as well as the framing of the prequels as a tragedy in the literary sense. Like the ill-fated demigod epic heroes in various religions and cultures, Anakin follows the Tragic Hero formula to a T, so that's gonna be his origins in my universe.
> 
> Also, Qui Gon shows up, surprise! I debated for a while whether I was going to put him in this as I feel I haven't seen enough canon content of him to get a good look at his personality and I felt weird making one up for him. However, I felt he was necessary, and I was also recently able to read the newly canon book about him, _Master and Apprentice_ , so I thought I finally had a good enough read on him to put him in.
> 
> So yea, if you’re following from before or if you’re new here, throw a comment my way, lemme know how you liked it!


	13. Kylo's Here To Ruin Everyone's Day (again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! Long chapter! Let's go!

Swirling out of the darkness, Anakin and Obi Wan found themselves back in the basement of Maz’s castle.

Anakin blinked. “Okay. No one’s here. That’s karking helpful.”

Obi Wan put a hand on his shoulder. “Easy. If the Force brought us here, then this is where we need to be.”

“The Force _said_ we needed to be with Rey!” Anakin retorted.

“Fine. You’re right,” said Obi Wan. “Last I saw Rey, she was running out of here. I’ll go look for her, you stay put in case she comes back.”

Anakin grumbled what Obi Wan took as acquiescence, so he gave his partner’s shoulder a final reassuring squeeze and vanished. 

Anakin stood there alone for approximately five clicks before growing impatient. For lack of anything else to do, he decided to glare at the box holding his lightsaber to pass the time, subconsciously materializing its spectral replica into his hand as he did it.

Wait. Someone was coming!

Anakin spun around in time to see Maz charging down the hallway, closely followed by Han, Chewbacca, and—

“Finn!” Anakin exclaimed happily, the young man hot on Han’s heels with a grim look on his face. “I knew you were going to stay!”

“I’ve had this for ages…” Maz was saying and Anakin refocused. She was taking them to his lightsaber. 

“You’re giving it to Finn, right?” Anakin called to her, standing in the treasure room doorway. Maz simply gave him an irritated glance and barreled straight through him, leaving him sputtering indignantly.

“Hey, I agree with you, lady, but I’d appreciate if you remembered that it is my saber to give to people, not yours!”

Ignoring the pissy Force ghost hovering behind her, Maz unlatched the box and held the lightsaber out for Finn. “Kept it locked away.”

Han drew a sharp breath, eyes zeroing in on the saber with recognition. “Where did you get that?”

“A good question for another time,” Maz responded absently. She turned to Finn. “Take it! Find your friend!”

“You really aren’t ever going to tell anyone where you got—“ Anakin's snipe at Maz was cut off when the Force called a warning, the room shaking with an impact from above directly after.

Anakin swore. He knew the presence of the First Order. They must have tracked BB-8 here.

_Where are Obi Wan and Rey?_

As he raced out of the crumbling basement, he heard Maz give a shout from behind and skidded to a halt. “Aw, sithspit.”

Maz, Han, Chewie, and Finn were all struggling to dodge the debris crashing down on them and Anakin knew he couldn’t just leave them by themselves. He shifted back to where they were and pulled a small sheet of Force energy around them. It wasn’t much but it could probably keep anyone from being crushed by a rock. Hopefully.

“Nice to see we aren’t completely alone,” Maz called, giving Anakin a thankful nod. 

Anakin shrugged playfully. “Can’t let my lightsaber get crushed.”

Maz rolled her eyes and swatted Han, who was giving her a very concerned look, on the thigh. “Move it, Solo!”

Han growled and stepped up the pace, only to stumble. His arm was caught by Finn, who Anakin was pleased to see had already figured out how to clip a lightsaber to his belt. Rey might be the more powerful Force wielder, but Finn was more than competent himself and Anakin was completely happy with him being the one to hold his saber instead.

“Thanks,” Han grunted to Finn as he readjusted and shouldered on ahead.

The castle was collapsing around them, but Maz knew her way and Anakin had his additional senses, so between the two of them they were able to successfully navigate the small group through the destruction and out into daylight.

And what a sight they were greeted with. Stormtroopers were swarming everywhere while TIEs howled overhead. The Force was trembling around them and Anakin’s fingers itched with the anticipation of a fight.

“We’re outnumbered,” he murmured, analyzing the scene. “We’d have to find some way to get more ammo, maybe—“

“Come on, Chewie!” 

Anakin watched in exasperation as Han and Chewie threw themselves into the fray. “Or just run off and die!” he yelled uselessly at their backs. He was getting more than tired of people soundly ignoring his really rather good advice and getting into trouble. 

A voice in the back of Anakin’s head that sounded distinctly like Obi Wan laughed at him about karma. Anakin mentally shoved it away. His entire life could be considered an endless cycle of bad decisions and the self-inflicted karma from said decisions’ fallout. He had more than enough karma.

“Look out!” Anakin called uselessly as Han narrowly dodged a blaster bolt to the head. 

_This_ wasn’t karma. _This_ was just unfair.

“I need a weapon,” he overheard Finn saying to Maz. 

_“Are you serious?!”_ Anakin gestured to Finn’s hand slightly hysterically. “Hello? Lightsaber!”

After Maz pointed out the obvious, Finn took a brief moment to register the ancient weapon of a bygone age resting innocently in his hand. Anakin was practically vibrating. There wasn’t time! 

“You know,” he told Finn. “It works better if you press the button.”

Finn pressed the button.

“‘Atta boy.” Anakin felt the shiver in his spine acutely at the familiar hiss of ignition and bright blue beam. The azure glow reflected in Finn’s dark eyes, setting them alight with the spark of determination. “Come on,” Anakin told Finn. “Let’s get ‘em.”

Setting his jaw, Finn zeroed in on a group of troopers and charged.

“Yes!” Anakin cheered as Finn surprised and took out a trooper, then another in quick succession. He moved quickly and nimbly, obviously trained in a combat form similar to saberplay and carefully adjusting his style to accommodate a different weapon.

It was an odd feeling, Anakin reflected, rooting for the guy with lightsaber fighting the stormtroopers instead of being the one commanding the troopers and trying to kill said guy. He prepared himself for the wave of triggering memories, but they never came. He realized that he had never much liked fighting with the stormtroopers in the first place. 

Now _that_ thought brought on some unpleasant introspections Anakin did not need running around his head when he was supposed to be watching Finn’s fight. He promptly pushed it to the back of his brain. 

“Careful,” the ghost murmured as a trooper with a shock-mace advanced on Finn, accusing him of being a traitor! Anakin winced; of course out of all the millions of troopers, they had had to send one that knew Finn personally.

“Don’t let him goad you, Finn. Keep it neat and stay focused on putting them down fast.”

Finn didn’t hear his spiritual tag-along, narrowing his eyes in defiant anger and running to engage the new trooper head-on. This one seemed more on his skill level and the two traded blows before—

Anakin yelped “Watch your right!” but Finn was already knocked to the ground. The trooper loomed over him, mace raised for the kill, but before Finn or Anakin could think to do anything the trooper shuddered from impact of a blaster bolt and crumpled.

Anakin let out a breath of relief at the sight of Han and Chewie running towards them with a smoking weapon, only to tense right back up again upon seeing at least ten troopers appear over a rise, weapons drawn. “Guys—“

Too late. The troopers all pointed their weapons at Finn, Han, and Chewie and an order was barked to freeze. Anakin once again cursed his dead-ness and overall inability to help as the trio exchanged mutual looks of acceptance that they were beaten and collectively dropped their weapons.

 _”Finn,”_ said Anakin, aghast at the sight of his lightsaber slipping from the young man’s hands and clattering to the ground. Anakin bristled as one of the troopers leaned down to pick it up. “And _you_ can keep your dirty mitts off of that, sleemo.”

Anakin watched helplessly as the troopers herded the trio together, mind circling through different plans on how they could escape, when suddenly he sensed… something.

Anakin cocked his head, turning and reaching out in Force. There it was, over the lake…

He almost had it when Obi Wan blew into his space out of nowhere, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Kylo.”

“Wha—?” Obi Wan didn’t even give the word time to leave Anakin’s mouth before he was pulling him forward and they were disappearing. 

They appeared in the woods and Anakin still wasn’t allowed any time to speak before Obi Wan was turning him around and— oh. 

_Fuck._

The massive shadow of Kylo Ren stalked through a mossy clearing with his jagged blade ignited, easily deflecting the blaster bolts shot at him by a terrified Rey.

“She was running scared, wouldn’t listen to a word I said,” Obi Wan told Anakin, voice tight. “Ran right into him. I thought you might—“

He didn’t get to finish as Kylo extended a hand and immobilized Rey in her place.

“Ben Solo, don’t you _dare!_ ” Anakin ripped free of Obi Wan’s grip, marching towards his wayward grandson with an accusing finger brandished.

“The girl I’ve heard so much about,” Kylo mused, walking straight through his infuriated grandfather and prowling around the paralyzed Rey like a Nexu toying with its prey.

Obi Wan snorted. “Heard about when? Your underling mentioned her once and then you choked him. Don’t be so dramatic.”

Anakin was too busy growling at Ren as the dark man whipped around to shove his saber in Rey’s face, demanding where the droid was. At the mention of him, Anakin stiffened. “Kriff, BB. Where—?”

Obi Wan quickly clarified. “She sent BB-8 away when troopers appeared. He’s free for now.”

“Then what reason does he have to keep her al— _hey!_ ” Both ghosts made dismayed noises as Kylo reached out and sunk his mental talons into Rey’s mind, Rey whimpering in pain and fear. 

“Social skills 101, Ben,” Anakin snapped. “Mind molesting isn’t how you get a girl to like you.”

Obi Wan froze. “But it’s how you know if she’s seen Luke’s map.” 

Anakin flinched, realizing the danger Rey was in. “Oh gods, why did they even open it for Han, it’s not like he was looking for Luke anyway and now— okay, fine, Ben, you got what you needed, the info was in her head. You can let go of her face now!” Anakin stabbed frustrated handfuls of energy at the Dark strands of rot weaving their way through Rey’s blazing golden halo in an attempt to pull Ben off of her. 

As per fucking usual, Anakin was ignored in favor of continuing to invade Rey’s mind until a group of stormtroopers interrupted.

“Never thought I’d be happy to see them,” Obi Wan commented, moving closer to cautiously examine Rey’s aura, checking for damage. 

Anakin nudged him. “They’re reporting Resistance fighters, did you hear? I thought I had sensed something back at the castle but you brought me here before I could be sure.”

Kylo had paused upon hearing the report. “Pull the division out,” he ordered eventually. His mask turned to rest on Rey and Anakin made a low snarling noise. “Forget the droid. We have what we need.” 

“You do _not_ ,” Anakin threatened, but Ben was already sending a powerful Force compulsion to sleep through Rey’s battered mind and she wilted into his arms on the spot.

“Total and blatant body violation aside,” Obi Wan grit out, “The _laziness;_ you’re going to ignore the physical copy of the map that can’t be more than a mile away on the chance that you could just savage it out of a poor girl’s mind instead?” 

“Really? That’s what’s wrong with this situation to you?” Anakin bit at him as he tore off after Kylo. “Ben! Ben, no! Put her down! Drop her!” 

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “I was simply pointing it out,” he called after his partner. “May I also point out that attempting to scold Kylo like a naughty voorpak probably isn’t the best way to get him to let Rey go?”

Anakin whirled around with a venomous glare. “Everyone and their damn mother’s been telling me to try and talk to him. I’m talking to him!” 

If the situation wasn’t so dire, Obi Wan would laugh at Anakin’s walking backwards directly through a tree and occasionally through one of the stormtroopers’ heels in an attempt to keep up with his grandson and face Obi Wan to argue with him at the same time.

“Maybe try waking Rey up instead? As I recall, you’ve fared better getting through to her,” Obi Wan suggested.

Anakin made a face. “Force compulsions are pretty strong, especially going at it through the veil, but I’ll try.”

“Do or do not—“

“Finish that sentence and I'm not responsible for my actions.”

Anakin turned and leaned over Rey’s prone form, mentally prodding at her diminished Force presence. “Hey. Rey? Rey! You in there? Come on, you need to get up. You won’t like where he’s taking you, Rey, please.”

Rey didn’t stir.

“Sithspit. Nothing.” Anakin looked back at Obi Wan again. “I haven’t sensed any injury though. Did you?”

Obi Wan shook his head. “I saw Ren’s… interaction with Poe. He isn’t pleasant by far but he’s trained well enough to not mentally damage his victims and risk any remaining information he may want getting confused or forgotten.”

Anakin glared at his grandson’s hulking form as it trampled through the woods. “How considerate of him.” He promptly resumed jabbing at Ben’s Dark, slimy shields, more out of vindictiveness than anything else at this point. He wished he could say it made him feel better. It didn’t.

“I also think— will you _please_ stop that?” 

Anakin met Obi Wan’s pointed scowl with narrowed eyes and several deliberate stabs in Ben’s direction before stopping. 

Obi Wan sniffed. “Thank you. As I was _saying_ , I also believe Rey won’t be interrogated right away.”

“Why? Wouldn’t they want to get Luke’s map out of her as soon as possible?” Anakin asked. 

He casually lit the tiny voice in his head whispering _That’s what Vader would do…_ on fire.

“That would be logical, yes,” Obi Wan agreed. “In that case, Ren’s Star Destroyer would be the closest and quickest option. That’s what they did when they captured Poe.”

Anakin caught on to where Obi Wan was going. “But Poe broke out.”

“Exactly,” said Obi Wan. “And not only did Poe break out, but in doing so he recruited a deserter, stole a TIE, destroyed an entire hangar’s worth of equipment, and all those actions led to the droid the First Order wanted so badly staying even further out of their reach.”

“So the First Order doesn’t want any more trouble on the _Finalizer_ ,” Anakin guessed. “It’s already made them look weak.”

Obi Wan shrugged. “They can’t trust it’s secure, is more like it. What all of this likely means though is that they’ll need time to transport Rey to a more inescapable base before they question her.”

“Starkiller,” Anakin finished.

Obi Wan’s gaze flickered over the battle that was now visible as they approached the edge of the trees. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Anakin was watching too; with the now visible X-Wings swooping overhead it appeared much less of a one-sided fight, but he kept his eyes on the familiar dark slab of metal that made up Ben’s transport. Ben was definitely headed right for it. 

With Rey. 

Hells no.

Anakin made up his mind. “That’s it, he can’t leave with her. I have to do something!”

Obi Wan paused, perplexed for a heartbeat before confusion turned to alarm at what his partner meant. “What? Anakin, _no_. No deliberate interference!”

Anakin jerked his arm in an effort to get out of the suddenly durasteel-grip Obi Wan had on it. “What do you call the little nudges and shoves we’ve been giving them so far? I’m not gonna hurt anyone, Master, it’ll just target the shuttle—“

_“You are not blasting it with Force lightning.”_

“How did you—?” Anakin stopped that train of thought, waving it away with his hand. Obi Wan always knew. 

_Killjoy._

He crossed his arms and glared at his Master. “So we’re just going to let him take her?”

“That is not what I—“ Obi Wan was cut off by a distant cry of alarm. They both turned to see Finn sprinting towards them from across the battlefield, lightsaber a blur in his hands. 

“Oh, good, he got it back,” Anakin noticed approvingly.

Obi Wan made a surprised noise at the sight of the blade, but the hissing of a closing boarding ramp alerted him to the sight of Kylo locking himself and Rey inside his ship. 

Finn sped up, screaming desperately for Rey, but as the ship began to take off, they knew it was pointless.

“So Finn didn’t leave after all,” Obi Wan observed, heart breaking at the look of total despair on Finn’s young face.

“Of course not,” Anakin said. “I knew he wouldn’t.” He paused, watching unhappily as Ben’s shuttle flew away into the sky. “Finn will bring her back, won’t he?”

“Finn is smart,” Obi Wan replied. “I don’t know if he’s truly made his choice about where he belongs yet, but I know he won’t be going anywhere as long as Rey needs him. Not with their connection being what it is.”

Anakin saw as Finn’s shoulders slumped and he turned and ran. “You’re right. I trust him. He’ll bust in, saber blazing, break her out and have her safe in no time.”

Obi Wan snorted. “Not everyone who holds that saber has your flare for the needless dramatics.”

Anakin grinned. “I wouldn’t let him have it if I didn’t think he had it in him.”

“Oh? How would you stop him if he didn’t?”

Anakin didn’t hesitate. “Force lightning.”

 _”No.”_

“I’m kidding! Mostly.”

Obi Wan gave his pyromaniacal partner a solid glare before continuing, “I have full confidence that Finn would provide just as grand a rescue for Rey as he did for Poe, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if she beat him to it.”

“She could,” Anakin agreed, trailing off as he suddenly found the need to examine the sky intently. 

The ghosts had been following Finn, who had just seen Han and hurried towards him. Finn gasped out what had happened to Rey and Han barely acknowledged him before walking away, eyes trained on the same thing Anakin’s were, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Actual ghost Obi Wan traced their stares to the source: a spacecraft landing in the remains of the battle. One brush of the Force towards it and the luminous Force presence inside told him all he needed to know. 

Obi Wan turned towards Anakin in concern. “Will you… be alright?” He hesitated to say more. This was one thing he had never gotten himself involved with.

Anakin shrugged, face carefully neutral. “I’m not going to reveal myself to her, but you can if you want. She didn’t try to shoot me when I talked to her earlier but I’m not sure that wasn’t a one-time deal.”

Obi Wan blinked, stunned. “You had a conversation?”

“No.”

Recognizing that was all he was going to get out of Anakin now but resolving to press further later, Obi Wan decided to focus on Han’s pained face. He patted Anakin on the back. “On the bright side, you’re getting your wish. Han’s talking to Leia.”

“Good,” Anakin said pleasantly, teeth bared. “If he kriffing runs off again, I’ll find a way to hop the veil and drag him back to her myself.”

Obi Wan shook his head at him, but then the ship’s hatch began to open and not a sound or movement was made between Han or the Force ghosts.

As soon as Leia set foot outside, Anakin withdrew from the Force’s surface. After a moment, Obi Wan followed. This wasn’t his place.

Anakin’s eyes were instantly drawn to the woman he had lost the right to call daughter. As she had asked him not to, Anakin didn’t see Leia all that often, and now that she wasn’t fixing him specifically with a look of bitter fury, he took the opportunity to drink her in. The intricate twist of her hair, lightened with time into a lovely silvery-brown. The laugh and smile lines around her eyes and mouth, smaller with lack of use. The worry and frown lines on her brow, more prominent now than ever. 

Her eyes themselves, umbral shadow like a moon during eclipse, fixated on Han like his were on her, shimmering with pain, with longing, with love, love, love, so much love and _shit…_ seeing the love in those eyes forced Anakin to look away because he didn’t care how stupid and tinted red and painful the Vader mask was, how could he have ever looked at those eyes and not seen _her?_

Eyes like those had looked just as lovingly at him once.

“Leia is fifty-five,” Anakin said aloud.

“Yes she is,” said Obi Wan. He couldn’t read the look on Anakin’s face and it frustrated him greatly. “What about it?”

“Then that would be…” Anakin paused, cocking his head as he worked through something in his thoughts, but before he could finish there was a bright, artificially cheerful voice blaring loudly through the clearing.

“Goodness! Han Solo!”

Anakin burst out laughing, train of thought completely forgotten as his old protocol droid ambled his way into the clearing, oblivious as usual to the moment he had interrupted.

“Force dammit, 3PO…”

Obi Wan’s mouth twitched in amusement, though he was drawn immediately to what was off with C-3PO, and it wasn’t his new arm.

“Still no R2-D2 then?”

Anakin sobered slightly at the mention of 3PO’s missing tagalong. “He’s still out of commission.” Aiming for teasing, he punched Obi Wan’s shoulder lightly. “What, don’t tell me you of all people miss him?”

Obi Wan adopted an affronted look. “I said no such thing.” 

Anakin chuckled, humor growing as they watched Leia give 3PO a _Look_ and the droid burst into a stammering fit, finally picking up on his missed cue and beating a hasty retreat with BB on his heels, leaving Han and Leia standing there alone.

“One day,” Anakin sighed, watching the droid he built so long ago toddle off. “One day 3PO _will_ learn to read the room. I programmed him to have tact, it just… hasn’t kicked in yet. He’ll get there.”

Obi Wan couldn’t resist. “How could you possibly program him with something you didn’t even have?”

Anakin swatted him. “Same way I programed him to know a million languages I didn’t speak, smartass.”

Obi Wan laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. “Fair enough. But I—”

“Shhh!” Anakin cut him off, pointing at Han who looked like he was preparing himself to say something. “Tell her you missed her!” he told Han. “Tell her you love her and that you—“

Han opened with: “You changed your hair.”

Anakin winced.

“No, that was a good start,” Obi Wan encouraged Han. “Don’t forget to add that you like it. Flattery can’t hurt.”

“Same jacket,” came Leia’s reply, soft and wistful.

“No, new jacket,” Han corrected, eyes glittering with something complicated.

Anakin’s lip quirked. “Alright, fine. They make it cute.”

The ghosts watched as Chewie moved towards Leia, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. Leia melted into it with a murmured greeting, relaxing for a minuscule moment and suddenly she looked terribly old.

As Chewie released her, he turned and stared meaningfully at Han for a moment before boarding the ship.

“I’m not good at reading Wookiee facial expressions but I’m pretty sure that was a ‘get your shit together’ face,” Anakin said.

Obi Wan opened his mouth.

“And I would know, I’ve gotten used to being on the receiving end of them.” Anakin added, giving Obi Wan a look daring him to say anything more.

Obi Wan closed his mouth, having the decency to look chastened. 

Anakin made a face at him. _Yeah, I thought so._

Once again it was now Han and Leia standing alone in the clearing. Han was still staring longingly at his wife, but now it was as if a new, darker shadow had passed over his face.

“I saw him, Leia,” Han told her, dragging the words out. “I saw our son. He was here.” 

Obi Wan and Anakin cringed simultaneously. “Never an easy conversation to have,” Obi Wan muttered. 

Leia’s face shuttered and Anakin couldn’t take the look he saw on it. “Come on.” He took Obi Wan’s arm and started pulling him away. “They’re not going to talk about anything we don’t already know. Let’s give them some privacy.”

Obi Wan blinked. “Anakin, you have many positive traits but as I mentioned before, tact isn’t one of them. Why are we really running away?”

Anakin waved him off. “It’s nothing, just— Ben, you know?”

Obi Wan nodded, not at all convinced. “Alright.”

Anakin glanced a look back. Leia was speaking urgently to Han now, glowing aura spiking with worry and upset. Again Anakin was stricken by how old she looked. He had seen the same thing happen to Luke, and he ached for his son just as strongly, but seeing it on Leia… 

Making a decision, Anakin motioned for Obi Wan to stop walking. His partner turned to him with an expectant look on his face. “Yes?”

“Leia is fifty-five.”

“She is,” Obi Wan repeated himself, not quite getting where Anakin was going with this, but knowing it would come out soon enough.

Anakin took a deep breath. “That’s twenty-seven more years than Padmé ever got.”

Obi Wan stilled. “Oh.”

“She never got to grow old, Obi Wan,” Anakin continued, eyes back on Leia in the distance. “Another year and her children will have lived double the amount of time she did. Stars, Leia looked _so much like her_ , and when I see her now I can’t help but wonder; is that what she’d look like at this age? If she had the chance, if I hadn’t—“ Anakin cut himself off, looking away with a dark scowl and blinking repetitively.

Obi Wan ran a hesitant hand over Anakin’s shoulders. All these years Anakin had been working on coming to terms with his life, with its long trail of mistake after mistake after mistake, but there was one part he had always struggled with. 

One person. 

Anakin would have given anything to be able to see his wife again, if only for a moment, and let her know just how incredibly sorry he was. That even if she could no longer feel the same, he would never stop loving her or missing her. Tell her how proud she would be of her kind, brave, beautiful children and everything they had done for the galaxy.

Unfortunately, it could never happen. Padmé had passed on beyond the other side of the veil where Force spirits resided well over fifty years ago, out of Anakin’s reach unless he made the decision to pass on as well, which also couldn’t happen. Not yet. His family still needed him. 

Knowing that didn’t make it any less painful though.

“I’m sure she would have looked lovely, no matter the age,” Obi Wan assured him, trying to sound more at ease than he felt. Thinking of Padmé was painful for him too. 

During their lives, Obi Wan and Padmé had never underestimated the other’s intelligence. He had known about the secret romance, and she had known he had known, and although neither had addressed it further than subtle insinuations and meaningful comments, the kind of connection that knowledge had formed between them had made them friends through it all. They both knew that they were each responsible for looking out for Anakin when he was with them so they could turn him over safely to the other when it was time to let him go.

Obi Wan had failed to see the danger Anakin had been in when he was supposed to be keeping him safe, and doing so he had failed Anakin and Padmé both. He had failed her again when he disregarded her dying words that there was still good in her husband, and when Obi Wan finally, finally had Anakin back with him, he had looked at the empty space beside them both and had sworn to her he would not fail in protecting Anakin a third time.

“Of course she’d still be beautiful," Anakin agreed, eyes bright. "Nothing could make her anything less than that. What’s a little grey hair to an angel?”

“Watch what you say about the grey hair,” Obi Wan warned, trying to lighten the mood.

Anakin's gaze shifted to him, mouth curving slightly upward. “Where did I say it was a bad thing?”

Obi Wan refused to fall for it. “It was implied.”

“Was not," Anakin countered, eyes softer now. "Bits of grey look nice on some people.”

Obi Wan still wasn’t falling for it. “Sure.”

“It does! On people like me, anyway.” 

Seeing Obi Wan’s deadpan _Really?_ look, Anakin insisted, “No, it’s true! It was because of all the stress from the damn war, I swear, but towards the end I saw a small hair in the fresher mirror one day and seriously considered flinging myself out the ship airlock.”

Obi Wan gaped slightly, taken aback. “I— wow. That couldn’t have been a pleasant discovery.”

Anakin shrugged. “No big deal. I lost all my hair way before it would have been noticeable.”

It took a moment before Anakin’s meaning hit Obi Wan, so his rounding on his partner in complete horror was slightly delayed. ”Anakin, _what the hell!?_ ”

Anakin raised his hands placatingly. “No, it’s okay, I can joke about it! Sid— _he_ gave me a mirror in my chambers, after a while you kinda get used to the whole ‘looking like a shriveled egg’ bit. And I’ve got my hair back now, so it’s really not an issue!”

Obi Wan’s sickened look was just getting worse so Anakin pulled back. “Sorry, still too soon for you?”

Obi Wan buried his face in his hands.

“I do hope I’m not interrupting,” a voice sounded from next to them.

They both turned with a start to see Maz Kanata peering up at the both of them.

“Well, actually—“ began Anakin.

“Of course not,” Obi Wan cut in smoothly, eager to change the subject. He gestured behind them to the rubble that used to be a castle. “I’m afraid our friends brought down quite the mess on your home. And after you hosted them so kindly too.”

Maz flapped a hand at it dismissively. “Bah. It’s but stone, and it can be rebuilt. I’ve done it before. Perhaps I’ll do it later, but as of now it gives me the opportunity to travel again. I haven’t done that for far too long.”

Anakin idly wondered how long a “long time” was for someone of Maz’s age, but now her glittering black eyes were on him again. “It’s thanks to this one I was able to get out of there without being flattened by rocks,” she said. “I don’t think we had the chance to converse before.”

“I’m fairly certain I remember talking at you quite a bit. You didn’t seem inclined to respond,” Anakin shot back.

Obi Wan made a noise of displeasure from beside him, and Anakin knew he was being given a Look.

Maz’s placid grin took a crooked tilt. “Hmm, you’ll have to forgive me my old ears. I do remember someone _shouting_ , yes, but no talking.” She laughed harder at Anakin’s increasingly peeved expression. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop. How are you, Knight Skywalker? It’s been far too long.”

Anakin flinched slightly at the title, mumbling “Not long enough,” under his breath and now Obi Wan did hiss _”Anakin!”_ at him, paired with a sharp elbow in the ribs. 

He gave Maz an obviously fake smile. “Oh, life’s great! Or death, anyway, because I’m dead and all. But yeah, things are fine. It’s fine.”

Maz was still staring at him, unmoved by his snarky rambling. “The last time we met, I sensed great unbalance in you. You were disoriented, at risk of getting lost. Do you remember what I told you?”

Soothed slightly by the sudden warm press of Obi Wan’s shoulder up against his own, Anakin was able to refrain from giving her the same response he had the time before, that being a politely snarled variation of “mind your own business”. As it was, he was able to meet her deep gaze and recall, “You told me that there were many paths to take, but even if one seemed easy enough to follow, I would still be lost if it wasn’t my own.” 

Maz nodded approvingly. “And have you found yours?”

Anakin hesitated, making sure he understood the question. He looked back over to where Leia was now speaking with an unknown Resistance officer, Han hovering awkwardly in the background, their previous moment seemingly over. He shifted his gaze to land on Finn stood a little further off, watching Han and Leia anxiously, fiddling with the Skywalker lightsaber resting loosely in his palms. He thought of Luke’s tired face sleeping fitfully on the cliffs of Ahch-To. He turned his head to meet Obi Wan’s bright grey eyes next to him. Obi Wan offered him a raised brow and a teasing grin.

“Yes,” he told Maz. “I think I’ve found it.” _Pretty sure, anyways. At least ninety-eight percent sure._

Maz’s smile grew. “I’m glad to hear it. You were so bright. As I was telling Master Kenobi here earlier, our galaxy’s brightest stars need to have an eye on them, make sure they’re growing right so they can achieve their full potential, whatever it may be.”

Freezing at Maz’s attention suddenly shifting to him, Obi Wan resolved in the back of his mind that he would one day find out why he kept being entrusted with especially Force-gifted individuals, given his less than spotless track record of being able to look after the previous ones. “Yes,” he began slowly. “About Rey, Maz…”

Maz rolled her eyes. “I saw where she went. It’s where she needs to be right now.”

Anakin bristled. “With Ben—er, Kylo?” He gave his fumble little notice. “With _Snoke?_ ”

“Anakin, she’s right.” Obi Wan said uneasily. “Can’t you feel it?”

Still agitated, Anakin took the time to extend his senses into the Force. To his extreme displeasure, it did have that feeling of _rightness_ to it. He shook his head. “Alright, fine. The Force wants her there. But why?”

As soon as the question left his mouth the answer dawned on him. “Because,” he started, cutting off Obi Wan’s speculation. “The Force, they told me she walks the line between Light and Dark, and it’s up to her to choose where she goes, with the right guidance. I thought that meant that we needed to nudge her in the right direction until Luke could help her, but we might not be the only influences.”

“You’re saying that an unpleasant interaction with Kylo Ren might steer Rey away from the Dark,” said Obi Wan, not entirely sure he was comfortable with this line of thinking at all. Scare tactics and traumatization did not make good teachers.

Anakin wrinkled his nose. “Possibly, though I really hope it doesn’t come to that. The Force is a pain in the ass— yeah I said it,” he added, giving the air around him a defiant glare. 

Obi Wan shrugged. “Can’t argue with you there,” and Maz hummed in agreement.

Anakin gave a huff of laughter. “Glad we agree.” He addressed Maz. “Whether the Force wants Rey to meet Ben or not, it also wants her safe. She isn’t going to be trapped for long. I promise you that.”

“So your path lies with them, then?” Maz asked, tilting her head in the direction of Leia’s shuttle. People were boarding it now. Han and Finn could be seen trudging back towards the _Falcon_ , talking with each other quietly. 

Anakin took one last look at Leia as she moved back inside her ship. _If she’ll have me…_

“As of now, it does.” Obi Wan answered for the both of them. “The Force will always be with the Resistance. We will do what we can.”

Maz was watching Anakin watching Leia. “Han told me he was having some troubles with his son,” she said gently. Both ghosts tensed, Anakin barely moving a muscle. “He didn’t elaborate, but I think I put most of the pieces together,” Maz continued. She stared directly at Anakin as she said, “The whole galaxy got the alert when those politicians revealed Han’s wife’s parentage, after all. It… made some things clearer.”

“Look, Maz,” Anakin felt very, very tired. “I—“

“Don’t start speaking to me about the past,” Maz told him. “What is done is done, and has happened for a reason. All I can do is focus on the now and have hope for the future.” Maz took a step back and presented both ghosts with a solemn bow. “I trust in the Force.”

Startled, Anakin hurried into a bow in return, Obi Wan echoing him with a somewhat neater one. 

“Thank you,” Anakin told her sincerely.

“Of course,” Maz said. Glancing over again at the ships, she motioned for them to move. “Now you two had better be on your way before you miss your ride. I expect a great story next time you come to visit me.”

“Next time?” Anakin repeated in alarm.

 _This time_ hadn’t exactly gone so well…

Maz was giving them a truly determined stare, however, and Obi Wan once again stepped in. “Yes, next time we’ll tell you all about it, right Anakin?”

Anakin gave Obi Wan a mental shove. 

Obi Wan shoved him right back.

Maz beamed at Anakin. “Wonderful. Bring your old apprentice along, won’t you? I haven’t seen dear Ahsoka in ages, how is she?”

Anakin and Obi Wan exchanged a complicated glance. “That’s…” Anakin hesitated. “That’s a long story. I’ll definitely let her know you asked after her though, she’ll be glad to hear it.”

“You do that,” Maz told him, raising a hand at them in farewell. “May the Force be with you both.”

“And with you as well,” Obi Wan replied, giving her a last respectful nod before turning away and leading Anakin towards the transports.

“I certainly hope the Force is with us,” Anakin muttered to Obi Wan. “You know, considering…” He gestured at the general opaque-ness of both of their bodies-that-weren’t-entirely-bodies.

 _”Anakin,”_ Obi Wan chided good-naturedly, only for them both to stop at Maz’s shout from behind them. 

“And if either of you come across Master Yoda…”

Anakin clapped a hand over his mouth to keep the laughter from escaping at Obi Wan’s tortured noise. 

“Farewell, Lady Kanata!” Obi Wan called over his shoulder, grabbing Anakin’s hand and vanishing them away in a split-second.

They reappeared on the _Falcon_ and Obi Wan was already turning on Anakin with a raised finger, warning “Not a _word—_ ” but Anakin was already sinking to the ground in a snickering fit.

Obi Wan groaned. “This is all your fault.”

Anakin looked up at him, wiping tears from his eyes. “Actually, I think it’s Yoda’s.”

_”Stop.”_

A pause. “I told you, though. _Wrinkly._ ”

A disgusted glare. “You are the _worst._ ”

A smirk. “You like it.”

A sigh. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did an estimation on Luke and Leia's ages. Kylo/Ben was supposed to be born when Leia was twenty-five and he's thirty now so I have the twins at fifty-five.
> 
> Here you can see my salt that I can't put Padmé in this story (cuz she's been long dead) OR Ahsoka (because Lucasfilms won't fuckin' tell me if she's dead or alive :P )
> 
> Shoot a comment if you like! Or if you didn’t! Just lemme know! :D


	14. Leia is trying her Damn Best, ok?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably wait until it's not the middle of the night to post this, but I'm excited so screw it.

“Rise and shine.”

“…”

“C’mon, up and at ‘em.”

“…”

Anakin huffed, blowing a stray curl out of his face. Screwing up his face in determination, he gathered up a cluster of Force energy and threaded it through every fibre of his Force Suggestion. _”You will wake up now.”_

Across from him, Rey mumbled in her sleep and Anakin froze hopefully, only to hiss several expletives under his breath when two seconds later she fell still again.

_Force dammit, Ben, what did you put in that sleep compulsion?_

Only half-joking, Anakin spun in a circle, waved his arms, then pointed dramatically at Rey. “Awake!”

“That’s an interesting method.”

Anakin’s spirit nearly left the astral plane at the sound of Obi Wan's voice behind him, whirling around with a hand clutched to his chest. “Obi Wan, hi! You didn’t see that!”

Obi Wan’s eyes were twinkling with mirth. “I’m fairly sure I did.”

“Hey, you try waking her,” Anakin challenged.

Obi Wan just shook his head fondly at him, sidestepping Anakin to gently place a palm over Rey’s sleeping head, checking how her brightness shivered slightly at the ghostly presence. “She’s alright for now. How has she been treated?”

Anakin glowered at the walls of the small cell they were in. “Ben brought her in here once they were on board, hooked her up to that restraining rig, then left. There haven’t even been any guards in to bother her. You were right about them taking her to Starkiller though. They’re nearly there.”

Obi Wan ran a hand through his beard thoughtfully. “Then I guess someone’s going to need to break into Starkiller— hopefully that will be the Resistance’s next move. Speaking of, they actually reached D’Qar already; I figured you’d want to see what was going on.”

Anakin did want to see what the Resistance was going to do next, but he was hesitant to leave Rey again. Taking a last look at her slumbering form, he took comfort in the brightness she radiated even in sleep. 

“You. Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone,” Anakin told Rey, wagging a warning finger.

Rey didn’t respond.

Obi Wan held out his hand. “You coming?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Anakin grasped it and focused on the Resistance base as they faded away.

Arrival on D’Qar proved much more exciting as they found themselves appearing directly underneath a landing X-Wing.

Swearing as part of the landing gear passed through his head, Obi Wan stumbled backwards out of the way, dragging Anakin with him as his partner seemed to prefer standing and staring as the thing sat on them. 

“Let’s admire the ship from a distance, Anakin.”

Anakin dug in his heels. “No, hang on. There’s something about this one, give me a second.”

Obi Wan paused. He had to admit Anakin’s ship sense usually wasn’t wrong— last time it had found them the _Millennium Falcon_. Focusing in on the X-Wing, he found himself in agreement. There was something familiar… 

The canopy to the cockpit popped up and out came the pilot. 

Anakin pointed rather unnecessarily. “Hey, it’s Poe! He’s alright!”

“Yoda told us he was, remember?” Obi Wan said with a smile, still glad to see it with his own eyes.

“Yeah, but last time we saw him he was looking half-dead. Forgive me my skepticism.”

“That’s valid.” 

A mechanical trill sounded away from them and both the ghosts and Poe turned to see a little orange and white astromech barreling across the tarmac towards his master. Poe’s face as he took off his helmet was brighter than the sun, laughing incredulously as he moved to intercept his droid.

“Aww!” Anakin couldn’t help but feel emotional at it, remembering running to meet R2 after being separated on missions, that feeling of relief at having survived long enough to see a friend again, even if that friend was just a droid.

Obi Wan chuckled, patting him on the back. “There, there.”

Anakin batted him away. “Leave me alone.”

Obi Wan was considering teasing him further, but Anakin hushed him. “Quiet, he’s telling Poe all about how Finn and Rey rescued him!”

Sure enough, BB was nodding at something in the distance and Poe was looking up. Obi Wan could see the moment Poe’s already sunny face get impossibly brighter as he locked eyes across the way with an astonished Finn. 

“Poe?” Finn’s voice carried over, completely shocked. “Poe Dameron!?”

Poe released a laugh, running towards him. Finn was running too and the pair met in a tight embrace, exclaiming at each other’s survival.

“At least Finn’s got one friend back,” Anakin murmured, draping an elbow over Obi Wan’s shoulder and watching them reunite with a soft look on his face.

“If Finn had looked around a bit longer, all this worry about someone dying could have been avoided.” Obi Wan tried to sound stern, though the smile he could still feel on his face most likely gave him away.

Poe was praising Finn for saving BB while Finn was trying to brush it off, saying he wasn’t the only one.

Anakin gave a theatrical sigh, shaking his head knowingly at Obi Wan. “Just take the compliment, Finn, you were great!”

“ _Humility,_ Anakin, some of us have it.” Obi Wan quipped.

Anakin just winked at him while Poe insisted that Finn finished his mission! He paused, noticing Finn was still wearing his jacket.

“Hey, it looks good on him!” Anakin said.

Almost in the same breath, Poe echoed Anakin’s sentiments, firmly telling Finn to keep the jacket, it suited him. Obi Wan had to laugh at the way Anakin’s eyebrows shot straight up.

Anakin tilted his head slightly, appraising the two men with a new, narrowed eye as Poe warmly called Finn a good man. “How long have they known each other again?”

Even as his eyes dropped bashfully, Finn visibly glowed from the praise. 

Obi Wan’s mouth twitched. “Hardly any time at all, though I guess that’s all they needed.”

The ghosts didn’t get much time of their own to dwell on it, as Finn’s face was already growing sober. “Poe,” Finn said. “I need your help.”

Anakin glanced at his partner. “This is good. If anyone can get Rey back, it’s these two.”

* * *  
“You do realize Finn coming to Leia now about this is basically equivalent to signing up for the cause,” Obi Wan said as he and Anakin followed Finn and Poe through the maze of the Resistance base. “I thought we wanted him to have a choice.”

Anakin looked Finn over. “Something tells me this is exactly where he needs to be; maybe saving Rey will give him the final push to figure it out for himself. And anyway, Leia won’t force him to stay if he doesn’t want to.”

“That’s very true, she wouldn’t do that,” Obi Wan agreed as they reached Leia, who was conversing with a group of Resistance officers. Obi Wan felt Anakin subtly cloak his presence at the sight of her.

Poe cut into the conversation smoothly. “General Organa, sorry to interrupt. This is Finn, he needs to talk to—“

Leia interrupted, taking Finn’s hand. “And I need to talk to him. That was incredibly brave, what you did,” she told him, eyes shining with gratitude. “Renouncing the First Order, saving this man’s life…”

Anakin nodded in agreement, wishing he could have been there with Obi Wan to see it.

Finn didn’t waste a moment, thanking her but quickly moving on to say that he had a friend who was taken prisoner—

Leia spoke over him again, saying Han had told her about the girl.

Obi Wan and Anakin shared a look at this. 

Finn appeared startled at this, but Poe was jumping in again to say that Finn had knowledge of the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian system; he had worked there.

Anakin leaned towards Obi Wan, a question on his mind since Finn hadn’t elaborated to Poe what kind of work he had been doing. “How high was Finn’s rank?”

“Just an average ground soldier, I believe,” Obi Wan replied, sensing what Anakin was thinking. “He probably worked security on Starkiller, maybe a guard. He’ll know it well.”

“Good,” Anakin said, watching as Leia led Finn towards the group of other officers that had drifted away. She had promised to help Finn get back to Starkiller to find Rey as long as he told the Resistance what he knew about it.

Obi Wan stroked his chin pensively. “I wonder what exactly Han told Leia about Rey. She could help her too if they still can’t find Luke after all of this.”

Anakin blinked. “Oh, yeah, you’re right; she can. Let’s think positive, though. They have both pieces of the map now, all they have to do is get rid of the newest Death Star and find some way to wake up R2 and they’ll be on their way to Ahch-To in no time.”

Obi Wan looked at him oddly at this. “It’s strange when you play optimist.”

Anakin shrugged. “I give it a try once in a while.”

That earned him another odd look, but a loud voice from behind them caught both their attention.

“Princess— erm, General! General Leia!”

3PO was making his way through the base, BB-8 at his heels.

Obi Wan hurriedly stepped to the side to avoid being passed through by 3PO, only to swear softly as BB promptly ran over his foot. _”Droids…”_

“Right? Gotta love ‘em,” Anakin responded, shit-eating grin on his face.

Obi Wan glared at BB’s retreating form. “Yes, of course.”

“Oh dear,” 3PO fretted. “Where did she go, BB? I swear they told me she was in here. Hello? Has anyone seen the General?”

Anakin turned around again towards where he had seen Leia, but to his surprise, she had disappeared. “Huh. Stealthy.”

Obi Wan snorted. “She literally just went into one of the control rooms a moment ago, Anakin.”

Anakin opened his mouth and closed it again, unable to muster up a defence to Obi Wan’s unimpressed eyebrow. “Yeah, well, I must have missed her,” he managed.

Obi Wan hummed in lieu of commenting again.

Han now appeared from the shadows against the wall. “Hey, Golden Boy. She’s this way.”

He gestured for the droids to follow him through to the following room, 3PO dithering, “Oh, thank you, General-Captain-Solo, sir.”

The ghosts followed the group into the other room, passing where Chewbacca was finally getting his shoulder wound properly tended to. Chewie was rumbling animatedly to the attending medic, who was nodding along with a patient smile.

“You must be so brave,” she encouraged.

Chewie agreed enthusiastically.

Anakin nudged Obi Wan. “Hey look, someone who knows how to behave himself in medical. You could take notes.”

Obi Wan rounded on him. “Excuse me, but who was the one who once tried to stab the med droid with its own sedating needle?”

Anakin stared at him. “You, Obi Wan. That was you.”

“It was— no, wait, that’s right. Ahem.” Obi Wan could feel his cheeks warm slightly. “My point is, you’re hardly the model patient yourself. Do I have to bring up the time you had Pale Fever?”

Anakin blanched, remembering all too well the instance his Master was referring to. “No, point taken. But _my_ point still stands that the Wookiee is a better patient than both of us.”

“He tried to kill Finn!”

“I think we’ve both just established we’ve done worse.”

Obi Wan was more than ready to continue the debate, but 3PO was approaching Leia. 

“The data chip has been inspected by the tech analysts, madam,” the droid reported. “I’m happy to say they found nothing suspicious about it.”

Leia gave him a tired smile in return, gesturing for him to plug it into the main base console.

As the stick was read and the map projected, Obi Wan looked among the faces gathered around, now awash in the blue light of the map, looking for hope, positivity, something. Unfortunately, all that could be seen was growing despair, no face more prominent than Leia’s.

“Dammit, R2…” Anakin hissed as 3PO broke the tense silence, apologizing and saying how it was only a partial piece of the map and that the system shown on this piece didn’t match any recorded star system. There simply wasn’t enough information to find Luke.

_Why is he still asleep? What did Luke do?!_

“They don’t even know R2 has the other piece, do they?”

“Easy, Anakin—“

“Don’t tell me to—“

Leia’s pained voice broke through the ghostly argument. “I can’t believe I was so foolish to think that I could just find Luke and bring him home.”

Anakin sucked in a breath at the broken look on her face. 

“Leia…” Anakin and Han spoke in unison, both desperate to say something, anything.

“Don’t do that,” Leia said sharply, pained expression smoothing over into one of neutral distaste, and Anakin flinched back before realizing she was speaking to her husband, not him.

“Do what?” Han was confused.

Leia’s gaze was determinedly fixed in front of her as she stormed past him. “Anything.”

Obi Wan tsked. “Leia, don’t shut everyone out.”

“Coming from you,” Anakin snipped, earning himself a dirty look.

Flummoxed, Han went after his wife, throwing an exasperated glance at 3PO. 

“Princesses,” 3PO offered in commiseration, and Obi Wan actually laughed at that as he followed Anakin and Han out. 

“I’m trying to be helpful!” Han called after Leia as he chased her across the base floor, several side eyes flickering to him as he went.

“When did that ever help?” Leia shot back at him.

Han opened his mouth, objection at hand, when Leia added, “And don’t say the Death Star!”

Han visibly bristled in indignation and Anakin whistled. “Ouch. I get she’s got a lot going on, but I’m pretty sure you’re getting most of this because you ran off, pal.”

Han ignored him, dodging a flock of pilots to catch up with Leia.

Obi Wan took pity on the man. “Just keep trying, Han, and don’t lose your head. Keep speaking to her calmly, let her know you want to help. She’ll burn through the initial angry silent treatment eventually and you can try again when she’s ready to listen.”

Anakin smirked. “That sounded like it was coming from personal experience, Master.”

 _It’s what I do when you’re upset,_ Obi Wan did _not_ say out loud. 

There was already one Skywalker in a mood; he didn’t need two on his hands.

Instead, he just smiled sweetly at his partner. “Simply trying to be helpful.”

“Like Han is?”

Speaking of, Han had finally caught up to Leia. “Listen to me, will you?”

The significantly less-gruffer tone of his voice had Leia turning around with an eye roll and a notable softening of her expression she tried to hide.

Han seemed caught wrong-footed for a moment at actually gaining his wife’s attention before bucking up and stumbling through an explanation that he understood Leia being reminded of their son every time she looked at him.

“No, Han, that’s not…” Anakin tried, not liking how he was thinking at all, but Obi Wan hushed him.

“I know, I know. Let them figure this out.”

Here, Leia’s mask dropped completely she asked Han incredulously, he thought she wanted to forget Ben? She wanted him back!

Anakin made a pained noise and Obi Wan grasped his hand tightly.

Han tried to reassure her there was nothing they could have done, there was too much Vader in their son.

“No! He was never _that_ stupid,” Anakin protested.

“Anakin, stop that,” Obi Wan told him.

Leia was lamenting sending Ben to Luke, saying that was when she lost both husband and son.

Anakin was shaking his head so hard Obi Wan feared it might fall off. “No. No no no. Snoke was already in his head, Leia, you couldn’t have known. I should have—“

“Beating yourself up won’t help them now,” Obi Wan continued determinedly.

Han was trying to apologize now, saying how he had coped badly, choosing to go back to what he was best at.

Leia countered they both had.

“And,” Obi Wan said to an Anakin still fidgeting unhappily over the Ben situation, “they’re realizing that they are their best when they’re together. This is progress, Anakin, this is good.”

Leia was now telling Han that their son was not lost; his fall was Snoke’s fault—

Obi Wan squeezed Anakin’s hand meaningfully at that. Anakin grumbled out an intelligible reply.

—and that together, Han and Leia could bring their son back.

Han still wasn’t convinced. “If Luke couldn’t reach him, how could I?”

Anakin spoke up now, voice uncertain. “I, I don’t know about either of them seeing him. Not now. He’s volatile, and they could get hurt. I think it has to be Luke— or me, if I can finally get through to him.”

Leia was arguing that Luke was a Jedi; Han was Ben’s father. “There’s still light in him,” she urged. “I know it.”

Obi Wan jumped at this, flashing back to when he had heard these words from Leia’s brother all those years ago, and from her mother even longer before that. They had been spoken about the man standing next to him, and Anakin’s existence now was proof that they had been right. 

Knowing that this was possible, why then, did Obi Wan still get an uneasy feeling about his Fallen namesake?

Anakin was also on a happy little journey to the past, going through every single loved one who had appealed to his good nature while he was Vader. 

Every single loved one had ended up dead either directly or indirectly from him save for Ahsoka and Luke, and he had most certainly tried to kill the latter two as well.

He _really_ didn’t feel like Leia or Han approaching Ben right now would end well at all.

Han and Leia’s conversation was now interrupted by an officer running up to Leia to report that the results of the enemy base reconnaissance were coming in.

Leia gave Han a last searching look before the mask of General Organa dropped back over her face and she moved away.

Anakin exhaled a tired puff of air, turning to face Obi Wan. “So now we’re on to Death Star 3.0. I forget, how much intel does the Resistance already have on it? Not much, I don’t think.”

Obi Wan frowned. “I didn’t think they had anything at all.”

“Well then,” Anakin decided, heading off for the war room. “They’ll have something now. Something’s better than nothing.”

“I don’t suppose that something includes another conveniently fatal design flaw?” Obi Wan was only partially kidding.

“Well there weren’t any Galen Ersos working on it this time around, that’s for sure,” Anakin said. “Hux might have copied someone else’s work, but he’s not an idiot. He kept this thing so top secret it took _us_ way too long to find out about it. There’s no way there was a traitor on the project.”

“Maybe no intentional saboteurs,” Obi Wan pointed out. “But a monstrosity of that size, packing that much firepower? It hardly sounds that stable. You’re saying there’s no way to at least damage it? I’m sure we could have found a way to blow the blasted thing up back in the day.”

Anakin grinned at him. “Look at you getting all destructive.”

“Anakin.”

“We could probably do it now. If we used Force lightning…”

_”Anakin!”_

Anakin held his hands up in surrender. “Kidding!” He was kidding, mostly. He couldn’t use Force lightning on anything because he honestly didn’t quite know how it worked. He heard Yoda could do it, but the little green troll always managed to evade him whenever he tried to ask about it.

Obi Wan eyed him sharply. “I’m fairly certain it would take a bit more than some lightning to bring down Starkiller anyway.”

“There’s always a weak point,” Anakin said. “I’ve been searching around for one for a while whenever I go to check on Ben. I haven’t found it yet, but that’s because my stupid intangible ghost hands can’t access any of the First Order computers for the design plans, and no one’s just left them sitting around. I’ve had to physically go poking around, and that’s a lot of planet to cover. If I had more time—“

“I know,” Obi Wan interjected into Anakin’s rambling. “I’ve been looking for error myself, whenever I can.”

“If there is a flaw, it’s deep in the core,” Anakin told him. “That’s where the main power terminal is, and I haven’t looked too closely there yet anyway.” 

Obi Wan paused. “Erm, about that. I don’t mean to offend, but—”

“Oh boy, this’ll be good…”

“ _But,_ you did miss the Death Star’s weakness. I know I’m being negative, but it is possible we both might have overlooked something on Starkiller.”

Anakin stared at his friend in confusion. “What? Obi Wan, I always knew about the Death Star.”

Obi Wan’s head whipped around. “You _what?_ Since when?”

“Since the first time I got someone to show me the building plans. Have I really never told you this?” Anakin seemed genuinely perplexed.

Obi Wan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No, no you have not. How could you have known?”

“Well, I wasn’t completely sure Erso was a turncoat, though I definitely had my suspicions,” Anakin recalled, staring off into the distance. “But really, he was extremely lucky nobody caught his little addition while the project was getting approval; it was obvious to anyone who knew the first thing about engineering and actually bothered to go over the plans in detail.”

Obi Wan still wasn’t following. “And you found it? Then why—“

“—didn’t I say anything?” Anakin’s mouth curved into a sneer Obi Wan wasn’t certain he liked. “Because Tarkin was a sadistic, power-hungry bastard, and Krennic was a sniveling pain in the ass, and if neither of them could look past their overinflated egos to see the problem right in front of them, then they deserved to have said problem blow up in their faces. _Literally._ ”

“What,” Obi Wan swallowed, hesitant to go down this route but curious to know the answer. “What was your, erm, your plan, for if it blew up?”

Anakin gave a twitchy jerk of the shoulders. “I mean, I wasn’t going to do anything about it because it was no skin off my back if it succeeded or failed, I was just there as Sidious’s scare tactic. That didn’t mean I was going to let myself go with it; why do you think I got in a TIE and got the kriff out of there when the Rebels were making their run? No one ordered an aerial defense of the station.”

“I’ve told you before, that period’s a little blurry for me,” Obi Wan said. “I had just died, after all.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Anakin said flatly, avoiding Obi Wan’s gaze. His eyes were darkened, troubled.

 _Blast it._ Obi Wan reached for nakin’s hand once again. “Hey. Don’t go brooding on me again.”

Again, Anakin took the proffered hand with a rueful look. “Don’t blame me, you were the one who wanted to go waltzing down memory lane this time.” 

Obi Wan gave an apologetic laugh. “I guess I am. Do forgive me for the unpleasantry.”

Anakin offered him the shadow of a real smile. “I can do that.”

“Good,” Obi Wan nodded matter-of-factly. “Now pay attention, I think they’re pulling up the Starkiller schematics.”

Anakin looked over towards where Obi Wan was motioning to, completely having forgotten about the living world. He was happy to see Finn front and center among the hastily gathered group of Resistance officers clumped around the map table. 

Someone was explaining to the rest of the group what exactly they were dealing with.

Another man breathed in horror, “It’s another Death Star…”

“Third one, actually,” Anakin chimed in. 

“Hush you,” said Obi Wan.

“I wish that were the case, Major,” Poe told the man gravely.

Anakin rolled his eyes as Poe pulled up a side-by-side comparison of the two. “Please Poe, it really is the same thing, just bigger.”

“I am trying to listen!” Obi Wan told him irritably.

The crowd murmured quietly in alarm at Poe’s revelation of Starkiller’s size, Han’s voice rising over them. “So it’s big.”

Anakin swept an approving hand towards him. “Thank you, Han.”

Finn was speaking up now, explaining how the planet got its name by draining stars for energy.

Leia dropped the worst news: reports said it was charging, and their system was the next target.

Anakin tensed. “Fuck. I should be back there checking on their movements. Checking on Rey.”

Obi Wan pressed one hand to his chest to stop him, other hand tightening its grip on Anakin’s hand that still lay in it. “Hold on, wait. Wait please, Anakin. We know now what the First Order is doing, that most likely won’t change, and I feel certain that Rey will be fine without us for a little longer. Just stay put for now so you know what the Resistance’s plan is and then you can go to Rey.”

Anakin took a deep breath, trying to calm his swirling thoughts. He nodded at Obi Wan in acquiescence. 

Once again, the worry in the living world was punctured by Han. “Okay, how do we blow it up? There’s always a way to do that.”

Obi Wan sighed fondly. “Good for you, Han.”

Anakin gave a quiet huff. “Again with the explosions, Master.”

Obi Wan didn’t even look over at him. “Listen to the meeting, Anakin.”

Anakin scoffed, but Leia was now speaking up. “Han’s right.”

“Awww, Leia.”

“Did you always talk this much during—?”

“Shh, Obi Wan, I’m trying to hear what they’re saying.”

Anakin was _very_ fortunate talk of a thermal oscillator had started up to catch Obi Wan’s attention. He magnanimously dropped the argument. “Could that blow it up, Anakin?”

An excited grin that usually led to trouble was growing on Anakin’s face. “You said it yourself, that much power storage can be destabilizing. The right hit, and…”

“Boom,” Obi Wan said, feeling his own burst of pre-mission excitement.

A spark finally seemed to be growing in Anakin’s eyes. “Boom,” he agreed.

The Resistance group seemed to have reached the same conclusion, now discussing how they were going to tackle the planetary shields. Han volunteered Finn, who hesitated for a moment before declaring he could take them down. But, he added, he needed to be on planet.

Han promised to get him there.

Anakin elbowed Obi Wan excitedly.

“I know, I heard,” Obi Wan murmured back.

Leia immediately demanded how Han was going to do this.

Han’s eyes were shining with the same sort of anticipatory fire of a wild plan that so often lived in Anakin’s as he warned his wife she wouldn’t like it. 

Anakin snickered. “That’s the best kind, Han.”

Obi Wan suddenly felt slightly nervous.

_Stars, what am I getting myself into with these two… At least Finn’s slightly sane._

“Alright, let’s go!” Poe called, the group scattering off to prepare. 

Anakin met Obi Wan’s eyes, much of the stress from his face lifted at the prospect of a rescue mission. “You ready for some fun, old man?”

Obi Wan scoffed, brushing past Anakin in the direction of the hangar. “Aways am. Do try to keep up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So again, switching around some movie scenes as the bits with Rey and Kylo and Finn and the Resistance aren't necessarily happening at the same time; it actually makes more sense time-wise for the Rey scenes to be later so they'll appear in the next chapter.
> 
> Comments always make me super happy!


	15. No one is having a good time in this chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say to you is: Executive dysfunction? **_B I T C H_**

The day was bright and the Resistance hangar bay was a bustle of activity; pilots scurrying from ship to ship like ants, flight crews clumped together in nervous bubbles of conversation, and techs and mechanics somehow being everywhere at once, adjusting a wing here, oiling something there. 

The usual vibrating tension of an upcoming mission was heavily saturated through the Force and hung in the air, weighing on even those who had no real sensitivity to it.

As they stood surveying the controlled chaos off to the side, Obi Wan heard Anakin give a displeased hum. He turned to see him frowning at one of the X-Wing pilots hopping into her cockpit. “She really shouldn’t be getting into her fighter yet, have the mechanics cleared her? I’m just saying that lower thruster looks off to me, she’s going to have friction on the…“

He trailed off at the look Obi Wan was giving him. “I know, I know, I can’t help, I just—” Anakin cut himself off with a breathy exhale, running a hand over his face in frustration. 

“You feel like we _should_ be helping,” Obi Wan finished for him. “I can understand that. I don’t think sitting on the sidelines was what the Force ever intended for either of us.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Anakin said with a rueful grin. “Whatever else happened, at least I can say my life was never boring,”

Obi Wan paused as a familiar presence appeared. He nudged Anakin gently, nodding towards it. “Come now, I wouldn’t say it was all bad,”

Anakin’s head whipped around to stare at Leia walking out, headed directly for a particular Corellian freighter. “No,” he agreed, feeling something in his heart lighten at the sight of her. “Definitely not all bad. Come on.” He took Obi Wan’s hand and tugged slightly, dematerializing them both to reappear at the foot of the _Millennium Falcon’s_ ramp.

Han didn’t seem to notice his wife’s approach, focusing on the equipment Finn and Chewie were loading into the ship while he supervised. He tossed out a casual warning to Finn to be careful, he was handling explosives

Finn’s scandalized yelp of “Now you tell me?” had Anakin snickering quietly while Obi Wan just tutted in disapproval. 

The mood shifted noticeably as Leia came into range, eyes only for Han. “No matter how much we fought, I always hated watching you leave.”

Han moved to face her immediately, a moth to her light.

Anakin shifted slightly, sensing the change in atmosphere. “We, uh, we should leave,” he told Obi Wan. “Give them some space.”

“Right,” Obi Wan agreed, neither of them moving from watching the living couple.

“In a minute,” Anakin said.

Obi Wan started, “Yes, of course, in—“

“Shhh!” Anakin cut him off with an impatient flap of the hand as Han answered Leia; that’s why he always left, so his wife would miss him.

Han’s quip made Leia laugh, but Anakin just said “Hmm.” 

Very funny, Han. Teasing the wife you were openly allowed to be married to about why you voluntarily walked away from her, ha ha. It wasn’t like there were people around who had forbidden marriages that had forced them to leave their wives for long, miserable periods of time or anything.

It wasn’t like said people were now permanently separated from their wife or anything.

It wasn’t like they were still a bit sensitive about jokes like that or anything.

Nope.

Not at all.

Obi Wan could easily hear his partner’s bitter grumbling from beside him and nudged him gently, having a fairly good guess on what had suddenly upset Anakin now, but not having the time to talk about it as Leia was keeping the outside conversation moving, stepping closer and telling Han softly that she _did_ miss him.

Anakin paused in his brooding to mutter “Aww,” because dammit Leia, right in the heartstrings.

And then Han’s eyes grew even softer, if that was possible, gazing adoringly, longingly, at the woman in front of him. “It wasn’t all bad, was it?”

Both ghosts jumped at the repetition of Obi Wan’s earlier words, Anakin turning to meet grey eyes sparkling with surprised humor.

Han continued, some of their life was… good? 

Obi Wan nodded along with this, offering Anakin a playfully quirked eyebrow and a fond, well-practiced expression that said, _Well? Was it?_

Anakin dipped his head slightly, giving a smile of his own as he met Obi Wan’s gaze. “Pretty good,” he conceded. He wasn’t talking about Han or Leia, and he knew Obi Wan wasn’t either.

Obi Wan started laughing at this, and Anakin was deciding whether to be puzzled or slightly offended before realizing that just as Han had echoed Obi Wan, he had just echoed Leia. Snorting at himself, he pulled a face at Obi Wan, who just shook his head at him.

Now Han and Leia were moving, forward, meeting in an embrace that was slightly starved, slightly desperate, all love, as easy and natural as thirty years of knowing each other better than almost anyone else. The Force bubbled uncertainly around them and oh, _oh,_ this was not going to end well.

Obi Wan felt almost ready to fly out of his skin, the familiar dizzying feeling of standing on the edge of a precipice all around him, the feeling of hesitation, that murmur of the _last time_ , tinted rose with warmth, begging you to remember it. He was almost ready to appear to Leia himself, damn the consequences, and tell her to _wait, please wait_ , not like this.

A hand wound around his waist, though, and Obi Wan turned to see Anakin looking at him anxiously, brow furrowed in that way it did when he was worried but trying to hide it. Looking for reassurance, Obi Wan realized, and though he could not truthfully offer it, he leaned in, putting his own arm around Anakin’s side and resting his head on his shoulder, the pair of them watching Han and Leia quietly, unwilling to break the silence.

When Leia did it, she drew slightly away but kept a hold on her husband, staring directly at him. If Han saw their son again, she begged, bring him home.

 _Bring both of you home. To me,_ was left unsaid.

Anakin tensed against him and Obi Wan tightened his arm, drawing him closer.

Han simply returned Leia’s gaze and nodded. “No more running.” 

Leia’s eyes crinkled, and she gave him a tiny smile, running her hand up to stroke his cheek, thumbing over his jaw. “Thank you,” she told him.

Han turned his head slightly, kissing gently at Leia’s palm, at the ring she wore. Leia inhaled sharply, letting her hand linger for a moment before removing it and stepping back, straightening her spine and recomposing herself. Her eyes were still locked on Han’s, though.

They spent another moment just standing there before Han started to walk backwards slowly, still staring. He offered her a two-fingered salute, the ghost of his scoundrel’s smile. “May the Force be with you, Leia.”

Leia wavered as he finally broke their connection by turning around to walk up the _Falcon’s_ boarding ramp. As he reached the top, Leia’s brow set in determination. “Han!” she called out.

Han froze immediately, doing an abrupt face-turn to meet his wife’s eyes.

Leia’s mouth opened, closed, opened again and kind of hung there, brown eyes bright and open, revealing their uncertainty now, moment of bravery gone.

Han, however, understood, if the smile of warm understanding blooming across his face was anything to go by. “I know,” he said to Leia, voice slightly raised so it would carry to her, but soft enough the true emotion rang through.

Leia gave another smile at that in return, slightly relieved, more than slightly worried, but a smile all the same. _I know,_ she mouthed back, voice seemingly gone. 

Han gave her a last wink, turning around again and gesturing at something out of view, ramp of the freighter slowly rising until it cut off his figure from view as it closed.

Leia was still staring at the _Falcon_ as its thrusters fired up, the noise startling Anakin out of the trance he had been in, watching the moment play out before him. He realized he had Obi Wan pressed against him in what must be an uncomfortable death-vise, especially given he was holding him with his metal hand, but he took another second to register his friend was squeezing him back just as tightly, which settled something inside him.

Obi Wan glanced up at him, sensing his gaze. “I thought we weren’t going to intrude on them.”

Anakin shrugged, trying to throw off all the excess emotion he had picked up from watching. “Eh. It probably wasn’t a big deal.” He hesitated, not liking the feeling of _inevitability_ hanging in the air around the both of them. “Obi Wan.”

“Yes, Anakin?”

_I have a very bad feeling about this…_

“They’re going to be okay,” Anakin said. “They will. It’ll be fine.”

Maybe Obi Wan thought that was more convincing than he did.

Obi Wan was not convinced by that in the least, but was more than a bit rattled himself and willing to indulge. He smiled. “Okay, Anakin. Have faith in the Force.”

Anakin flashed back to the place with the colored lines and the cloud shaped pain in the ass. _I do. That isn’t a good thing._

Outwardly, he reluctantly untwined himself from his Master. “I have more faith in us.” He clapped his hands together. “Let’s beat the _Falcon_ there. We’ve put off checking on Rey long enough.”

Obi Wan paused a moment, trying to go over in his head if there was anything else they needed to know from the Resistance while they were here. He turned towards Anakin and nodded. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

Anakin’s mouth adopted a sardonic grin. “You sure we can’t just hit that oscillator with a good Force lightning blast while we’re there?”

“Oh wonderful plan, rescue Rey by blowing her up.” Obi Wan retorted, welcoming any sort of mood-lightener, morbid as it may be.

Anakin stuck his tongue out at him. “For that, I’m beating you there.” At this, he promptly vanished.

Obi Wan stood there, half-tempted to take his sweet time and make Anakin wait, just to be petty, but firstly, Jedi were not petty. Secondly, leaving Anakin by himself for long periods of time, especially when he was already feeling explosive, never boded well. 

And thirdly… Obi Wan's breath caught in his throat as he glanced again at Leia, who after all this time, was still standing in her spot on the tarmac, eyes glued on where the _Falcon_ was now flying away. Yes, it was time for him to go. He dared not stare too closely at Leia’s face, wanting to give her some semblance of privacy, instead choosing to turn around and focus on Anakin’s familiar Signature, aiming himself directly at it as he disappeared.

Maybe he had aimed too close, he thought seconds later, as when he appeared he had landed on his feet for a single breath before Anakin immediately walked right into him, toppling them both over.

“Oh, there you are,” Anakin said, almost casually. “I won, by the way.”

Obi Wan struggled to sit up and disentangle himself from the pile of limbs they made on the floor. “So you did. We’re already inside Starkiller.”

Not-so-gently shoving Obi Wan off of him, Anakin scrambled to his feet. “Yep. We really had perfect timing, I got here just as Ben and his guard walked through the front door carrying Rey. They went down that way, come on!”

Obi Wan paused a moment before getting off the floor and looked around, scanning their surroundings— an empty corridor leading in from a door to the outside, stormtroopers placed on guard at the entrance —and pinching his mental nose at the eerie feeling of Dark all over the place.

Apparently, his hesitation was too long for Anakin, who promptly grabbed his ankle and started tugging him along. “You’re taking too long, we need to find them.”

Obi Wan _did not_ yelp as he flailed in a most undignified manner. “Anakin, for _stars’ sake—_ ” but Anakin had already dematerialized them both away. 

They reappeared in what seemed to be a standard First Order holding cell judging by its similarities to Poe’s on the _Finalizer_ , based off an Imperial one, which were based off the Old Republic ones before that. Not having appreciated the dragging in the slightest, Obi Wan sat up on his elbows and used the foot still currently being held hostage to kick Anakin squarely in the side.

“Ow.”

“ _Really,_ Anakin?”

Anakin grinned humorlessly and dropped his leg, eyes shifting to his grandson. “I’ll take my amusement where I can get it.” He was watching the man in black direct a trio of stormtroopers carry a still-unconscious Rey into the room and strap her to another restraining rig. 

As the shackles were clicked in, Obi Wan got to his feet, moving over to inspect the restraints. “These aren’t Force-nulling. They’re just regular restraints.”

“Guess he’s pretty confident,” Anakin said, eyeing Ben disapprovingly. “That’s his mistake.”

“And our advantage,” Obi Wan agreed. “If you can somehow get through to Rey, we might be able to help her slip out of these when Ren has left.”

Anakin was about to suggest ideas when Ben barked for the troopers to leave them alone. Obi Wan sucked in a breath, watching as the troops made their way out with the quickness learned by those who knew what happened if they dawdled. “I don’t like this.”

“Me neither.” Anakin’s eyes were now on the sleeping Rey instead of his kin. “Damn it, kid, I told you not to get into any trouble while I was gone.”

“She’ll be alright,” Obi Wan tried to reassure them both. “She’s only seen the unfinished part of the map. She’s never learned to shield, which is actually a good thing as Kylo won’t need to hurt her to get what he’s looking for. He’ll know just as much as the Resistance then, which isn’t anything because he doesn’t have the other part of the map and no access to R2-D2 to get it.”

“And once he gets it from Rey, he won’t have any need to keep her alive anymore,” Anakin argued.

“He kept Poe alive,” Obi Wan countered, looking on unhappily as Kylo locked the door. “And as much as I hate to say it, I doubt either he or his Master would be so willing to just throw away the life of such a powerful Force user.”

Anakin bristled at this. “If either of them even _try_ to touch her…” He trailed off angrily, unable to finish his threat as the facts were that there was truly very little he could do to stop the Dark from getting to Rey. He couldn’t even save his own grandson, how could he—

“Anakin,” Obi Wan interrupted his stewing, pointing at Ben. He was now extending his tendrils of Darkness towards Rey and Anakin felt his heart lurch. But the Dark feelers did little more than pluck at the hazy fog surrounding Rey, chasing away the last urgings of the sleep compulsion. 

Rey stirred near immediately, coming out of the deep dregs of forced sleep. 

Anakin scowled. “What the kriff? I _did_ that! She didn’t wake up then!”  
“Easy,” Obi Wan soothed, eyes on the waking Rey.

“Don’t patronize me,” Anakin told him snippily, inwardly berating himself. _Should have done it better, dumbass. Get your karking shit together._

Obi Wan sighed. “I’m not—“ He paused, as Rey’s eyes finally fluttered fully open. She squinted, registering her bonds and staring around the room in a haze of disorientation, mind probing the room with the Force and clearly trying to regain her bearings. It still took her two full passes before registering the shadowy hulk of Kylo Ren to her left.

To her credit, Rey’s only show of surprise was a flare of alarm from her aura and a visible paling of the face in startled horror.

She also had the courage to speak first. “Where am I?” she demanded.

“You’re my guest,” came the reply. Both ghosts, having heard this one before, looked at each other with twin snorts.

“A truly awful show of hospitality so far” Obi Wan tutted. “Maybe, next time, send an invitation if you want someone over before resorting to abduction.”

“Yeah,” Anakin agreed. “And Rey, if you’ve got a bad host, you’re totally allowed to trash their place and/or their face when you leave.”

Rey unfortunately did not hear their expert advice, having focused instead on her friends rather than herself. Kylo had decided to indulge her by admitting he hadn’t found them yet.

Here Rey’s face relaxed slightly at that and Obi Wan shook his head. “Never trust a word your captor says, Rey. He truly doesn’t have them, but he could always be lying. Never become complacent.”

Both ghosts stiffened as part of Rey’s consciousness seemed to land on them for a click, moments before her entire demeanor hardened again with hatred against Kylo, studying him suspiciously.

“I think she heard you,” Anakin said, voice terse with hope.

Obi Wan squeezed his shoulder in response, not willing to jinx it.

Ben had noticed the change as well. He cocked his head, remarking that Rey still wanted to kill him. It wasn’t a question.

Anakin snorted. “That makes sense, Ben. You know, considering.”

Rey snarled back that that tended to be her response towards masked creatures hunting her.

"Good for you, Rey," Obi Wan told her.

The Dark swelled around Kylo, the fog mostly blocking his thoughts as he leaned towards her, Rey only flinching slightly. 

Anakin shifted uneasily. Vader tended to punish prisoners who were insolent; constant backtalk made doing his job all that much more annoying. Rey needed to be careful. 

Then Ben took his mask off.

Anakin’s breath caught at the sight of the boy he had loved so dearly, still with his father’s nose and his mother’s deep, calculating eyes, and the fluff, messy halo of hair made even wilder by the helmet that could have come from either side of the family.

He recovered, laughing uneasily. “That’s not exactly going to scare her, Ben. You’re hardly ugly.”

Still, Rey seemed unnerved by the sight of his face for a moment, before the mask of defiance slid back over her. 

“You heard her say it,” Obi Wan told him. “She was expecting a dark, faceless monster. Not a human like her. This is clever of him.”

“You and I know full well that humans make some of the worst monsters,” Anakin said. “Sidious and I just had faces fucked up enough they matched our insides and made it more obvious.”

“I know humans can be monstrous,” Obi Wan said, refusing to acknowledge the latter half of Anakin’s statement. “I don’t think Rey does though. She can’t let him trick her.”

As soon as he had taken off the mask, Ben had made sure to look Rey directly in the eyes. “Tell me about the droid,” he commanded.

Rey promptly started in on BB’s basic statistics, reciting them off like she was reading out of the production manual and Anakin grinned. “Good girl.”

Kylo, however, didn’t appreciate Rey’s humor, cutting her off immediately to insist that the droid had a section of the navigational chart. He said some other things to try and intimidate Rey, but what frightened the ghosts was the fact that he and the First Order had apparently been able to access the rest of it from Empire archives.

Anakin’s gaze met Obi Wan’s in alarm. “Master, he’s bluffing, right?”

“He has to be,” Obi Wan declared. “Luke wasn’t a fool. He spent his entire life interacting with people who knew how to stay off the grid and how not to be found when they wanted to stay hidden. I won’t be vain enough to say he learned it from myself or Yoda, but Luke was in the Rebellion long enough to know never to pick a place with any kind of trail attached to it.”

Anakin cringed. “You do realize that the Empire was always able to find them after a couple months, right? Like, always.”

“Because they were never quiet,” Obi Wan pressed. “The Rebellion was always making noise, always fighting back. They were never actually laying low, so no matter how secret their hideaway was, they would always end up giving themselves away. Luke has stayed on the same tiny island for five years doing absolutely nothing, no matter how much we goad him.” He gently took hold of Anakin’s chin, making sure he was meeting his eyes. “He’s lying, Anakin. Your son is safe.”

Anakin opened his mouth slightly, about to say something, but Kylo was still talking. “You know I can take whatever I want,” the man threatened, and Rey recoiled as he reached out for her face, internally reaching out toward her open mind with the Force.

Both ghosts winced at that. “Ben, that’s gross,” Anakin snapped at him.

“He was like this with Poe as well,” Obi Wan muttered. 

“Gross,” Anakin repeated extending his own presence over Rey’s, trying to smack away whatever bits of Dark he could. “He needs to get his hands off.”

Kylo’s signature met Rey’s, Dark aura visibly starting to seep into hers, and then it stopped as Rey’s flared up like a solar burst. He paused, looking into his victim’s shocked eyes pensively. 

Anakin felt nauseous. “Well if he didn’t know how powerful she was before, he does now. And this is her first interaction with a trained Force wielder— Force’s sake, Ben, knock it off!”

Kylo had only hesitated a moment, squaring his jaw and shoving his way onward, Rey’s face now screwing up with agony.

“She’s making shields,” Obi Wan realized in shock, hand resting over Rey’s in some semblance of comfort. “Or are those just yours, Anakin?”

“I can only affect things physically, Obi Wan, same as you,” Anakin grunted, partially contradicting himself by persisting in pressing on Kylo’s mind in an attempt to tear him off of Rey. “Those are definitely hers.”

“It’s not enough,” Obi Wan warned him. “She’s trying to fight him off, but there’s no way…”

Kylo was digging deep into Rey’s mind if her agonized face was anything to go by. Taunting now, he brought up her loneliness, her fear of the unknown, her dreams of an ocean…

Rey was crying. 

Obi Wan was very, very pale.

Anakin was five seconds from being the first ghost to successfully vomit. 

Kylo moved on to Rey’s thoughts of Han Solo, mocking her for viewing him as a father figure, saying he was nothing but a disappointment.

Red faced and teary-eyed, even through the pain, through the violation, Rey still raised her chin and bared her teeth. _”Get out of my head.”_

Kylo just leaned even closer, face completely, utterly, blank.

It was the stoniness, the emptiness of those brown eyes Anakin had known so well from different faces that did it for him. 

He had to stop this. 

Kylo wanted to play head games? He wasn’t going to listen? Fine. Rey seemed to have heard Obi Wan earlier. Maybe she would listen to him.

Anakin shifted so he was practically on top of Kylo. “Rey,” Anakin intoned, pouring every ounce of pure power he could pull from the Force around him into his words. “Block him out. Don’t listen. This is your mind and _he doesn’t belong there._ ”

Obi Wan drew in breath, staring at him intensely. 

Rey’s eyelids twitched and briefly, just for a moment, her flailing aura connected with Anakin’s. Upon contact, there was a spark, short, but strong enough to send a shiver down Anakin’s spine.

“Fight him, Rey!” Anakin encouraged, and in return he felt from Rey just the tiniest feeling, but it was there. Affirmation.

Her aura roaring up like a like cannonfire, Rey spat in her captor’s face that she wasn’t giving him anything.

Anakin gave an incredulous huff of laughter. “She heard me. Obi Wan, she—“

“I know,” Obi Wan had the shadow of a smile on his face now, eyes far away in that way Anakin knew the cogs in his brain were moving at lightspeed, figuring out a plan. 

“She _needs_ shields,” Obi Wan murmured distractedly before his head shot up. “Quicksand!”

Ankakin blinked. “What?”

“Anakin, tell Rey to imagine quicksand,” Obi Wan said frantically. “Like the dunes back on Jakku. The kind that eats whole ships. It traps anything that tries to touch it, it catches them and holds them and doesn’t let them escape. Tell her to clear everything from her mind except the image of quicksand.”

Anakin immediately relayed Obi Wan’s words to Rey, going as far as to try and project any and all images of quicksand he had through his own mind. He knew what Obi Wan was doing. 

For a second, he was worried he had lost his connection with Rey again, but her eyes lit up with rage and determination anew and locked onto Kylo’s gaze.

And slowly, ever so surely, the stony confidence began to melt off of the Darksider’s face. His aura, thick and smothering and tightly wrapped around Rey, began to falter, golden stains of Rey’s light bleeding through. Kylo’s brow furrowed— Obi Wan pointedly ignored he made the same face Anakin did when he was confused —and his face started to shine with sweat as Rey glowed brighter and brighter.

Suddenly, Kylo’s eyes widened, and the toxic black tendrils of his presence started to retract themselves from Rey and back into themselves, only to pull themselves taut and slowly, slowly get dragged back into the center of the maelstrom that was Rey like ships to a gravity well. 

Or like anything that was foolish enough to tread across quicksand.

“She’s doing it!” Anakin could barely speak. “She’s pushing back!”

Obi Wan’s eyes were wide with trepidation. “She isn’t pushing at all. She’s _pulling_. She’s doing what I hoped, trapping him in her own mind,in a space where he can’t do any damage, but she’s much stronger than I thought. She’s done it, but now she’s at risk of going too deep, crossing streams that should not be crossed.”

Rey was breathing harshly, eyes on the now visibly unnerved Kylo feral and furious. Then she gasped and Kylo’s eyes flashed with shock.

“You… you’re afraid…” Rey panted, engulfing her captor in her blazing inferno, their dueling energies screaming around the room, a hurricane of energy clashing against energy that had finally found its equal in power.

“Anakin, get her out of there.”

“How am I supposed to—?”

Rey wasn’t finished. “…That you will never be as strong as _Darth Vader._ ”

Kylo reeled back, face shuttering like a kicked animal, and the tethers tying his and Rey’s minds together _snapped_.

All the energy in the room wobbled, pulling back in on itself at the breaking point before exploding back outwards in pulsing waves.

The kickback in the living world was bad enough, Kylo staggering and Rey shuddering as the surge washed over them, but through the veil, it was enough to send both ghosts flying backwards.

And then the room was silent, the only sound Rey’s harsh gasps of air.

Shaking his head to clear it, Anakin leaped back to his feet, Obi Wan moving more slowly behind him. He hurried across the room to where Rey was still fixated on Kylo Ren, aura so impossibly bright it almost hurt to look at. 

A challenge was in her gaze. _Try me._

Ben turned around and fled the room without a word.

At this, Rey slumped back on her rig, fierce mask breaking to reveal terrified exhaustion, sucking in air in gulps that almost sounded like sobs.

Anakin started to laugh, hoarse and just this side of crazed, bracing himself on the rig and running a comforting hand over her forehead. “Good job, Rey. Damn good job. You did it.”

A hand was running over his back and there was Obi Wan’s calming presence beside them, a little shaken but steadying as ever. Anakin leaned back into him as Obi Wan reached over him to project a cool, soothing cloud of calm over Rey’s troubled mind. It took a moment, but slowly, Rey’s muscles began to unclench, her breathing evened out, and her mind began to settle.

Anakin offered a tired smile to Obi Wan. “She did it!”

“Mmhmm.” Obi Wan’s eyes were still troubled as he kept his hand hovering over Rey’s head. “Anakin, does something about Rey’s Force signature seem off to you?”

Good mood sobering, Anakin refocused on Rey, focusing in on her blinding brightness. It swirled and shimmered, dazzling as ever, and yet…

Anakin squinted. “What?”

He looked closer, feeling again for that spot he had brushed over that tingled with wrongness. “There, look there. It’s like a little blotch or something. Ew.”

Obi Wan identified the small stain they were looking for and poked at it. “It feels Dark; I don’t like it. It’s almost as if…”

Obi Wan froze, zeroing in on the feeling of that dark-tinted blight that now rested in Rey’s head like a malignant growth. 

_Sithspit. Well, this is going to be a pain in the ass we certainly didn’t need._

“Anakin, this thing is a connector. It’s tying her to something.”

“What, you mean like a Force Bond?”

“Not ‘like’ a Force Bond, it _is_ a Force Bond.” Obi Wan looked at Anakin, choosing his next words carefully. “Brand new, but it’s already strong.”

He watched the realization dawn on Anakin's face. “But how could she have— oh. Oh _no_. Fucking Sith hells.”

“I told you she was going too deep,” Obi Wan said helplessly as Anakin groaned into his hands and started pacing around the room. “It’s my fault, I was the one who told her to guard her mind like that. I didn’t think about the repercussions.”

Anakin gave him a look. “Come on, Master, it’s not the time to be a martyr. All we did was give her advice.”

Obi Wan gave him a look right back. “And now she has a Sith Lord in her head.”

Anakin pointed a finger at him. “Firstly, not a Sith. Secondly, karking Ben was the one who invaded her mind like that. She had to defend herself, and in the mixup I guess they got a bit tangled together. I’m more concerned about how we’re going to get rid of it.”

Obi Wan sighed, compartmentalizing the information in his brain and sorting through his knowledge for answers. “Manually breaking it may be difficult. It’s a very sensitive process; you don’t want to damage the minds while removing it, it’s almost like a mental surgery. Not to mention, you need a third party with enough power to do it, and as of now the only person there is who might be able to is Luke, and powerful as he is, I don’t think he’d be enough, even if he had Leia with him to provide more power.”

Anakin bit his lip, thinking. “And we sure as hells can’t do it from all the way over here.”

“Unfortunately not,” Obi Wan agreed. “I’d say let it fade out naturally, but that means we’d have to ignore it and risk it getting stronger instead of weaker. And, even if it’s faded, it’s never completely gone. There’s always a possibility it could come back should she run into Kylo again.”

“Then we can’t do that either,” Anakin said. “Can’t we at least find a way to block it if breaking it is out?”

“That seems to be the best option. If Rey can get to Luke, he can teach her and she can build a barrier on her own. The Bond will still be there, but nothing will be able to get through.

Anakin nodded decisively. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Once she gets the kriff out of here, anyway. When are Finn and Han supposed to get here?”

Obi Wan frowned pensively. “They didn’t leave that long ago,”

“But it’s a pretty short flight from D’Qar to here,” Anakin said, doing calculations in his head. “The one good thing about this whole clusterfuck we’ve been in is that it’s stayed in pretty much the same quadrant of space. No running ourselves back and forth halfway across the galaxy. It shouldn’t take the _Falcon_ more than an hour or two to get here, provided it stays in shape and trouble doesn’t find them.”

“So if they’re extremely lucky, then,” Obi Wan said.

Anakin stuck out his chin. “I’m going to stay positive or I’ll lose it. They’ll be here in a couple of hours or I’ll blow this thing with Force lightning.”

“For the last time, you cannot—“

“Force. Lightning.”

Obi Wan threw his hands in the air. “Fine. Deal.” He turned at movement from the doorway, but fortunately it was just a stormtrooper, shuffling in and taking up a post at the entrance. 

Rey had noticed the trooper too, and was now staring at them perplexedly.

Anakin’s brow furrowed. “Wait. What does this mean for Rey now? Ben will be back, won’t he?”

“He will be,” Obi Wan confirmed. “And he’ll most likely come back angry, so we need to be ready. Rey needs to be ready.”

“Rey needs to be out of here before that,” Anakin declared.

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “Yes, I realize that, but what are we supposed to do about it?”

“Break her shackles,” Anakin said immediately, heading over towards Rey’s restraining rig. 

“Anakin, wait, stop!” Obi Wan caught his arm. “We can’t just do that, we need a plan.”

“Fine, let’s make a plan. Step one: break Rey’s shackles. Step two: make a run for it. Step three: find a place outside to hide and wait for Finn and Han to find her and then off they go. Done.” Anakin started for Rey’s restraints again, only to be barred again by Obi Wan.

“Good start,” his Master suggested. “But to me, that reads as: Step one: break Rey’s shackles. Step two: the _armed guard_ watching her will definitely notice and be more than a match for her since Kylo exhausted her. Step three: Rey gets locked right back up again and Kylo and Snoke finally realize she needs Force sensitive restraints, and then she won’t be able to escape at all.”

Anakin glowered at the floor. “Fine. So the plan has a few tiny flaws.”

Obi Wan put a hand on his shoulder. “Anakin, I want her out of here just as much as you do, but we need to think rationally about this. She can’t even just go outside and wait for Han and Finn to come get her because they wouldn’t be able to leave yet anyway. They have another job to do here, remember?”

Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know, I know, they need to disable the planetary shields. We can still make their job easier so they don’t have to break Rey out afterwards, right? She can meet up with them.”

“She isn’t going anywhere until we can figure out what to do about her little friend over there,” Obi Wan reminded, jerking his head in the direction of the stormtrooper still at the door.

Anakin exhaled loudly. “Alright. Guard first. So the best thing to do would be to knock him out, but I don’t know if she can really do a Force push strong enough for that yet—”

“Perhaps something more subtle?” Obi Wan suggested.

Anakin huffed. “You know, so far it’s been me coming up with all the ideas and you just shooting them down. Please, grace me with your sage wisdom, o exalted Master of mine.”

Obi Wan whapped him in the arm. “Knock it off. What I’m saying and what you aren’t hearing is that we need time to think! We can’t suggest the usual breakout methods for her because she is untrained. We need to go at this from a different angle.”

Anakin hesitated for a moment before acquiescing. “Okay, I can do that. New angles.” He paused a moment, cocking his head. “What are the old angles? I mean I said I would just knock him out and run, what would you do?”

Obi Wan took a moment to consider. “Well, I would probably attempt to—“

He was cut off by a quiet voice speaking up, wary yet firm. “You will remove these restraints, and leave this cell with the door open.”

Both ghosts whirled around to see Rey staring determinedly at the stormtrooper, who had turned to acknowledge her.

Obi Wan felt shock run through him. “That,” he said faintly. “I would escape like that.”

Anakin was not following. “What? What’s she doing?”

The stormtrooper asked Rey to repeat herself, hint of menace in his voice.

Rey faltered, before regathering herself and fixing the trooper with a firm stare. “You will remove these restraints, and leave this cell with the door open.”

It dawned on Anakin. “No. She’s not— is she trying a _Force suggestion?_ She isn’t that controlled yet, she’s going to— Rey!”

Anakin cringed as the trooper just moved closer, baring his weapon and growling that he would _tighten_ the restraints.

Obi Wan was just standing still, eyes on Rey. “Anakin, be calm,” he said. “We need the Force to be calm right now if she’s going to do this right.”

Anakin obediently took a couple of deep breaths. “But she can’t do this, Obi Wan!”

Obi Wan didn’t move a muscle. “Yes she can. Watch.”

Not knowing what anyone was thinking right now, Anakin turned worriedly back to Rey, who was staring at the blaster uneasily, but the light in her eyes never dimmed. She took a breath, gathered the Force around her instinctually until she was sheathed in it like it was armor, and locked eyes with the trooper directly through his mask. 

_”You will remove these restraints, and leave this cell with the door open.”_ Rey enunciated, each word dripping with power and ringing through the Force.

The trooper stiffened, as if struck. “I will remove these restraints, and leave this cell with the door open,” he echoed hollowly. Reaching down, he started breaking apart the shackles.

_Holy shit. It worked._

Obi Wan was chuckling in delight, saying “Well _done,_ Rey,” while Anakin just let out a low whistle.

“I’ll be damned…”

Rey stayed deathly still as the trooper undid her bonds before slowly turning on his heel and walking towards the door. As Anakin watched him go, an idea came. “Rey! Make him drop the blaster!”

Rey tensed up immediately, calling out behind her for the trooper to drop his weapon.

The ghosts didn’t even stop to register just how quickly Rey had responded to Anakin, waiting on bated breaths to see if Rey’s order would land.

Sure enough, the trooper called back he was dropping his weapon, the clatter of the blaster hitting the floor all the confirmation they needed.

The room was quiet, most of the tension gone for the first time since Kylo had brought Rey in here, and Anakin couldn’t help it.

He burst out laughing. It was just too much.

Obi Wan gave a put-upon sigh at his partner’s antics, ignoring him completely to focus on scanning Rey for any mental or physical damage. She appeared mostly fine, no physical injury and nothing more than mental fatigue from the mind battle with Kylo Ren.

That and that pesky little issue of the Force Bond, he amended bitterly as Rey got over the shock of what she had done. 

He tucked that thought away. Focus on getting Rey away from this place first, then they could deal with the Bond issue.

Calming her mind, Rey gingerly clambered off of the rig she had been bound to, straightening her clothing and taking a few cautious steps around the room. Obi Wan noticed with a small amount of surprise how Rey unconsciously made sure to step _over_ where Anakin was now sitting on the floor, still giggling to himself.

Obi Wan bent down and shook Anakin’s shoulder. “Are you over yourself yet? Because Rey is on the move.”

Anakin wiped a couple of tears from his eyes and accepted Obi Wan’s hand helping him up. “Master, I’ve been ready to get out of here since we arrived.”

“That makes three of us,” Obi Wan said. Rey had decided to make her way for the door and Obi Wan gestured after her. “Shall we?”

Anakin smirked, linking their arms. “Let’s.”

As they made their way out, both ghosts made noises of approval as Rey paused to pick up the trooper’s discarded blaster. They moved slowly down the corridor, senses on red alert for danger.

Then a thought came to Anakin. “Hey, how were you so certain Rey would be able to mind-trick the guard?”

“Force-compulsion is one of the abilities that manifests most naturally in untrained Force sensitives,” Obi Wan responded. “It’s a survival tactic meant to help them stay out of the danger that their abilities tend to get them into. You used to do it all the time.”

Now Anakin moved in front of him to face him. “Uh, Obi Wan. I don’t know if you’re remembering training a different Padawan, but that was never my strong suit.”

“Not on purpose,” Obi Wan clarified. “And not once you got older; in fact, I think formal training might have taught you to lose that ability, which I apologize for, but as a child you were always _extremely_ convincing. I know you noticed how you managed to get your way more often than not.”

Anakin shrugged. “I was a cute kid who knew how to be annoyingly persistent.” He paused to think on it, though, really thinking on the times he had told a blatant lie, usually to get himself out of some corner he had backed himself into, or to obtain something he really needed, and how people would just stand up straight, say, “Okay”, and let him go on his way. “So you’re saying I used to be a good liar but I lost that during training.”

Obi Wan snorted. “No, you’ve always been a terrible liar—“

“Hey.”

“—you just lost the skills to cover your ass for it.”

Anakin made a face that was _not_ a pout. “That blows. I’m going to try and relearn it now and no one can stop me.”

Obi Wan’s lip quirked. “I’m not so certain it works like that.”

“Try me,” Anakin challenged.

Obi Wan was more than happy to continue the debate, but a glance out of the corner of his eye brought him back to reality. “Hold on, where’s Rey?”

“Slag it,” Anakin muttered, taking off down the halls. “What is it now, six times someone’s ran off on us? Stop distracting me, Master!”

“This is in no way my fault,” Obi Wan exclaimed indignantly, running to catch up. He tore around the corner Anakin had vanished behind, only to run straight into his back. “Oof. Now what are you doing? Aren’t we supposed to be catching—“

“Shhh!” Anakin hissed.

Sensing the seriousness in his voice, Obi Wan just peered around his friend to look down the hallway they were standing in and—

“Oh dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyle stop making everyone so SAD, dammit. Yea, this is a very angsty chapter because Darth Grandson does things that manage to hurt all 3 of literally everyone's feelings (mine included). I'm playing hard and loose with all the rules of the Force and really don't feel like combing thru supplementary material/Wookieepedia for clarification, so go easy on me, ok? Also, #HANANDLEIADESERVEDBETTER2KFOREVER. That is all.
> 
> (Unless you wanna leave a comment, that would be awesomesauce).


	16. Dead Guys Live Vicariously Through Living Kids Fucking Shit Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know that feeling when you wanna write a future scene, but to GET THERE you gotta write things before that and your brain just Will Not Cooperate? Yea that's me rn.

“Now how _did_ she get up there?”

Obi Wan and Anakin were both watching in rather fascinated alarm as a seemingly never-ending line of troopers marched across the hallway in front of them. 

On the ceiling, no more than a couple feet above the polished white helmets, bracing herself against two walls with the stolen blaster balanced over her shoulders, was Rey.

“Force jump?” Anakin suggested, only half paying attention to the conversation at all. _For Sith’s sake, we leave her alone for_ one minute _and this is what she gets herself into; it’s almost like having a new apprentice._

He made himself laugh at that, prompting Obi Wan to look over at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how I was going to tell Ahsoka I’ve finally found someone who could give her a run for her money.”

Obi Wan gave an amused huff. “That’s fair, but to Rey’s credit I’d say she might be the better listener.” He threw a sideways glance at Anakin. “She certainly listens better than you.”

Anakin made a face at him and turned back to watching Rey, letting it be for now.

_Wait a minute…_

Anakin turned on his Master indignantly. “Rey can’t hear literally ninety percent of the things you say to her!”

Obi Wan’s lips quirked upwards, eyes never leaving Rey. “Hmm, yes, but when she can hear you? Very responsive girl.”

Anakin was feeling very attacked at this moment, but Obi Wan was tensing up at something Rey was doing, so Anakin turned back to watching her and swore under his breath. 

One of Rey’s arms was slipping from its position against the wall, blaster on her shoulder beginning to slide precariously towards the change in gravity. The trooper line below her didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, and while the masks had several blind spots, it would be more than a bit difficult to overlook a gun falling from the sky and beaning someone in the head.

“Come on, Rey,” Anakin muttered, watching as Rey’s face screwed up in an effort to stop the blaster from falling.

Both ghosts made noises of concern when Rey shifted her arms and shoulders in an attempt to readjust, only succeeding in her whole body sliding down a few more precious inches before catching herself.

The end of the never-ending line finally seemed to be in sight, the helmets of the last two troopers appearing from down the hall. 

“Just a little longer,” Obi Wan urged. 

Rey’s entire body was trembling violently now, face shining with the effort of holding everything up. Then, just as the final troopers crossed the archway beneath her, the blaster slipped off.

Anakin gasped.

Obi Wan was already lunging forward, hand raised. 

And the blaster froze, halfway to the ground, little more than a breath away from the top of the last trooper’s helmet.

The trooper didn’t even pause in their motions, continuing on their way across the hall after their comrades.

Anakin turned to Obi Wan, eyebrow raised. “What happened to ‘no obvious interference’?”

“That wasn’t me,” Obi Wan said in amazement.

The spirits’ eyes both flicked back up to Rey, who had somehow managed to contort her body so she only had three limbs in contact with the walls, one arm off and stretching towards the weapon still hanging suspended in midair. 

“You know,” Anakin said after a heartbeat. “I’m not even all that surprised by now.”

Rey suddenly let out a shaky breath, and then both her and the blaster plummeted inelegantly to the floor.

Anakin snorted despite himself. 

Obi Wan shot him a disapproving look as Rey shakily picked herself back up off the floor. “She is still learning. Remember that.”

“I do!” Anakin protested as Rey started off down the hallway again. “It’s just confusing because then she’ll go and mind-trick someone or climb a wall.”

“Fair enough.” Obi Wan paused, cocking his head in thought. “She does need a better hiding spot though. She can’t be pulling what she just did constantly when her escape is found out.”

Anakin nudged him urgently at this, Rey seeming to have perked up with an ear in their direction. “Think she heard that?”

Rey abruptly ducked down a side corridor, weapon lifted and eyes searching for something. 

“Well, if she’s looking for a new hiding spot, then I’m glad I could be a good influence,” Obi Wan said.

Anakin side-eyed him. “Oh yeah, great influence. Who was the one about to go and catch that blaster for her before she beat you to it?”

“I— I was not!” Obi Wan sputtered. “It was just a reflex! I wouldn’t have _actually—_ Anakin, stop imagining things.”

“Okay, Master,” Anakin sang, dancing out of elbowing range.

Obi Wan was not going to give him the satisfaction of the argument, choosing instead to increase his pace so he could march past his partner and catch up to Rey.

Anakin was more than happy to keep the argument up, but he was distracted by what they seemed to be headed towards. “Should she be taking the lifts?”

“I don’t see any stairs,” Obi Wan countered as Rey cautiously approached the lift door, pressing a button.

“Aren’t you worried about her getting trapped in here if someone else comes in?” Anakin asked, both ghosts tensing as the door opened and Rey readied her blaster, only for everyone to relax as it came up empty.

“I am,” Obi Wan said. “But she needs to get out of here somewhere. She seems ready and willing to use that blaster, and I think she could duck the lone couple of troopers she would surprise.”

“See, now that you said that, she’s gonna end up sharing one with Ben himself,” Anakin retorted as the three of them crowded into the lift.

“You just said that, not me,” Obi Wan responded, eyebrows shooting up as Rey didn’t press any buttons and instead started jumping for the lift ceiling. “Now what’s she—?”

Rey’s fingers connected with the ceiling panel, and on her next jump she lashed out, palm connecting with the panel in a forceful blow and sending it upwards.

“Oh,” Anakin managed. “She’s going climbing.”

Obi Wan sighed in exasperation as Rey’s hands caught the rim of the panel hole, gripping it firmly and hoisting herself up and out, blaster wrapped up in her shirt on her back. “I thought we were choosing a plan where she didn’t have to exhaust herself scaling things?”

Anakin watched as Rey reattached the ceiling panel and settled cross-legged on the roof of the lift, leaning backwards and resting her head on the cable, breathing deeply. “Let her take a breather. She’ll be fine.”

“She doesn’t have time for ‘breathers’,” Obi Wan said. “Although, at least she picked a spot with no security cameras.”

“Always a plus,” Anakin agreed.

The spirits fell silent at Rey’s mutterings to herself. Her eyes were closed, appearing to be thinking things through. “Ships would be on top for easier takeoff,” she was musing, eyes drifting skywards. “So, the hangar is… up.”

She tilted her head, giving the lift shaft a calculating once-over.

“Oh good, she has an escape plan,” Anakin observed. “I’d be all for it if it didn’t mean it would mess up Han and Finn’s time here looking for her.”

Obi Wan was busy examining the shaft height, only half-paying attention to Anakin. “This is a shallow base,” he said. “The planet is hollowed out for the superweapon, it is literally impossible for the base to go down too deep. I think we were on one of the lower floors, so to get up there—“

Anakin huffed impatiently from next to him. “Hang on.” He vanished in a blink. 

“Oh, goodbye then,” Obi Wan sniffed, mildly affronted.

Anakin reappeared a second later, meeting his Master’s annoyed glare with an insolent jut of his chin. “Figured I’d go and actually check the top while you were waiting around. Right now we’re about thirty-five feet below the surface.”

Obi Wan narrowed his eyes at him. “Thank you,” he eventually got out. He turned away from mischievous blue eyes, choosing to return to looking over the shaft. “We’ve scaled higher, at least. It shouldn’t be impossibly difficult for her to get up there.”

“No—“ Anakin was starting to say, only to be interrupted by a familiar scream of rage suddenly blasting its way across his wavelength. “Uh oh.”

Obi Wan had felt it too, if to a somewhat lesser extent. “Was that Kylo, by any chance?”

Anakin nodded, lips pursed in a grim line. “And what a wonderfully pleasant mood he seems to be in. I think Rey had better start climbing soon; I’ll go check on him.”

Anakin abruptly disappeared again, once more leaving Obi Wan alone. He glanced over at Rey, who was now on her feet again and testing the cables suspending the lift. “Is it too much for me to ask him to give some warning before he does that?” Obi Wan asked her. 

He took Rey’s rolling of her shoulders as a shrug. “Me neither,” he sighed.

All of a sudden, the lift shuddered, Rey and Obi Wan both freezing up in alarm. Then, the lift started moving, upwards and upwards, apparently on its way to the top.

“Oh,” Obi Wan said in surprise. “Well that’s fortunate. At least you won’t have to climb. Let’s hope there’s some leeway between the top of the shaft and this lift’s roof, though.”

Rey clutched the gun from her back apprehensively, laying back down and staring as she came closer to the ceiling.

Just as it seemed as if Rey would have to swing into the lift and reveal herself to its occupants to avoid being crushed by the roof, the lift stopped at the final floor, and both ghost and girl let out breaths of relief.

Rey rolled over onto her stomach and cracked the roof panel, peeking inside. 

Obi Wan took the opportunity of being both alone and invisible to simply stick his head through the roof. 

A group of four troopers were getting off, with no one else seeming to be getting on. They were in luck.

“Follow them out, Rey,” Obi Wan told her.

Rey seemed to hear this, as she opened the hatch wider and wriggled her way back inside the lift, swearing softly to herself as the blaster caught on the edge and messed up her drop to the floor.

“Easy does it,” Obi Wan was telling her. “Now, once you head out, I recommend— _shit_.”

The coast had been _clear_ , damn it all.

But sure enough, there was one lone stormtrooper walking towards the lift, helmet tilted down to read whatever was on the datapad in their hands, the only reason Rey had not been spotted yet.

Rey had noticed the trooper as well, face paling.

“Be very, very careful,” Obi Wan said urgently, considering the distance between the two, the lighting, the potential time it would take for Rey to duck out and down the intersecting hall without being seen—

Rey bared her teeth, readied her blaster, and took off in a sprint directly for the trooper.

“Rey, _what—?_ ” was all Obi Wan had time to get out before Rey unleashed a primal yell, startling the trooper into looking up from their pad, just in time for Rey to swing the butt of the blaster rifle directly at their helmet.

It connected with a sickening _Crack!_ and the trooper’s helmet spun to the side, body following.

Obi Wan stood there, gaping slightly, as the trooper crumpled to the floor and Rey stood over them, weapon bared and panting heavily.

“Or— or, you could do that,” Obi Wan managed, now understanding a little better Anakin’s earlier comment about Rey being full of surprises.

Voices could be heard down the hallway, and Obi Wan looked up. “Blast. There’s a sign for a hangar that way, but with the little mess you’ve left here, I wouldn’t advise choosing that one. Let’s keep moving away from the attention, yes?”

Rey must still be in a good place to hear him, for she took a couple steps in the direction of the voices, before shaking her head and running off the other way, Obi Wan on her heels.

* * *

As Anakin appeared at the point he had sensed his grandson, he found himself promptly ran through with Ben’s fractured saber.

“Yikes,” Anakin commented, stepping out of the way of the frenzied hacking he now realized Ben was doing to Rey’s restraining rig, as they were both currently standing in the holding cell.

“Ben. _Seriously._ ”

Ben continued shouting and slashing, turning on the walls when the rig was suitably destroyed, mask modulator turning his words into mangled babble. 

_He sounds half-mad…_

Anakin quieted that observation as Ben’s thirty-year-old tantrum finally started to die down, not even sure of what to say about what he had seen.

As Ben loomed there, saber growling ferally, harsh breaths audible even through the mask, a white helmet peeked tentatively around the doorway. “Uhh. Lord Ren?” 

“He’s not a Lord, he isn’t a Sith!” Anakin couldn’t resist heckling, snorting as the trooper's head shrunk back violently when Kylo whipped around to stare at them. They must have been cowering behind the door, listening for the murder noises to die down, he’d bet every mechanical limb he’d ever possessed on it.

Kylo stormed out of the mangled cell, trail of icy fury in his wake. Anakin curled his lip in distaste as he walked through it to follow him.

Ben was already charging down the hallway, barking orders.

One trooper bravely piped up that there were triggered sensors in hangar 718 and Anakin’s brow furrowed. There was no way Rey would have been able to climb up to the hangars that quickly. He crossed his fingers, hoping Obi Wan was able to keep her out of major trouble.

Kylo responded that Rey must be testing her powers; they needed to find her soon before she grew even more formidable. 

Anakin grit his teeth at Kylo’s tone. So he and Snoke did want Rey’s power. 

_Well, that’s not happening,_ Anakin declared, glaring flaming daggers at the toxic, Dark fog surrounding his grandson’s retreating figure. 

He slunk along behind Ben’s entourage as he stomped down corridors, harassed various underlings, waved his saber threateningly five times so far, actually used it to stab a door or wall twice so far, Force-pushed anyone and everyone who was even remotely in his way violently to the side, and punted an unfortunate mouse droid, who made the mistake of crossing in front of his foot, at a nearby wall. 

“Hey!” Anakin snapped at the last one, kicking his own foot through Kylo’s shin in failed retaliation.

At this point, another trooper ran up to Kylo. “Sir, she was not found in hangar 718.”

The knot in Anakin’s gut loosened just slightly at that, despite knowing that if Rey had been recaptured, Obi Wan would come get him. She was still safe— for now.

Ben correctly predicted that Rey was going to try and steal a ship, but before he could finish his order to guard all hangars, the Force trilled in anticipation.

Anakin stiffened, focusing in on the feeling of something important, but Kylo had gone stone-still.

“Han Solo,” Ben intoned ominously, aura flaring up in a defensive shield.

Anakin flinched. He hadn’t been wrong before. It really hadn’t taken Han that long to get from D’Qar to here

And of course, _of course_ , Ben Solo would know his father’s presence the second it appeared on-planet.

That was how these things went.

_I sense a presence… Something I haven’t felt since—_

Anakin shoved _that_ memory down away savagely, choosing instead to focus on the presence he knew better than any in the galaxy and faded away. 

As he reappeared, he had a second to see another dreary grey hallway full of troopers before a hand reached out and yanked him into a shaded alcove off the side.

Anakin found himself pressed between Obi Wan and the wall, Rey huddled in beside them. “What—?”

“Shhh!” Obi Wan hissed.

Anakin quirked a brow. “You know they can’t hear us, right?” He jerked his head in the direction of the troopers.

“Yes, but Rey can!” Obi Wan’s voice was a whisper. “She’s focusing on staying calm and invisible, and she doesn’t need voices in her head distracting her!”

Anakin shot a glance at where Rey had a white-knuckled grip on her stolen rifle, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. “Okay, that’s fair.”

“Oh, and I heard the troopers conversing. You’ve sensed the station charging, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, turns out they’ve located the Resistance base. If that fighter squadron of Poe’s doesn’t get here fast, D’Qar is rubble.”

“Force damn it.”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Sorry.”

“We’re waiting for this group to pass, and then we’ll keep going,” Obi Wan continued in his hushed tone. “I’m fairly certain we’re almost to a hangar where she can find a ship.”

“We need to stall her then,” Anakin said. “Han and company just broke atmosphere.”

“So that’s what I felt,” Obi Wan muttered, grey eyes meeting Anakin’s worriedly. “Were they detected?”

“Ben sensed Han the second they showed up,” Anakin said reluctantly.

Obi Wan’s face fell. “Unfortunate, but it was to be expected. How are they now?”

“I haven’t gone to check yet, but since there aren’t any alarms going off, I’m guessing that as of now, no one else knows they’re here.” Anakin told him.

“That’s good, they haven’t lost the element of surprise entirely,” Obi Wan observed. “Now they just need to sneak in, disable a generator, find the girl, and get out before the Sith Lord with a personal grudge can find them.”

“He’s not a Sith…” Anakin trailed off with a sharp intake of breath as he caught Obi Wan’s meaning. “Why. Why did you have to say that?”

Obi Wan’s face was grave as he peeked out from the alcove to see if the troopers had passed. “Because someone needed to acknowledge the rancor in the room. This is all way too familiar.”

Rey too had checked to see if the coast was clear, deeming it safe and ducking out from her cover. 

Anakin growled. “It’s just a coincidence.”

Nothing was ever just a coincidence.

Obi Wan raised a hand placatingly. “All things considered, though, this means I should probably be the one to go watch over the infiltration effort.”

“Fine,” Anakin bit out. “I’ll be here with Rey.”

“Alright,” Obi Wan nodded. He reached out to squeeze Anakin’s shoulder. “See you soon.”

Anakin gave him a terse nod, squeezing the hand on his shoulder back with his other hand. 

Obi Wan offered him a faint smile before turning on his heel and fading away.

As he reappeared, Obi Wan took a moment to take in the vast, snowy landscape that surrounded him. His being a ghost meant he wasn’t affected by the elements of the living world anymore, but he couldn’t stop the reflexive shiver as an icy gust danced across his view in front of him.

Looking past the walkers visible in the distance, Obi Wan searched for the familiar presences of Finn, Han, and Chewbacca. He caught the spark of what he was looking for centered behind a base structure, and as he drifted over he began to pick up hushed conversation.

“The flooding tunnels are over that ridge,” Finn was saying as Obi Wan approached them. The two men and Wookiee were hunched behind the structure, large bag slung over Chewie’s back.

“Oh good, you’re making a plan,” Obi Wan said, relieved.

Han asked Finn what his job had been when he worked here.

“Sanitation,” Finn replied.

Obi Wan must not have heard that right. “Beg pardon, _what?_ ”

Han rounded on Finn immediately. _”Sanitation?!”_ he spat. “Then how do you know how to disable the shields?”

Finn stated that he didn’t, he was just here for Rey.

“And there goes the plan.” Obi Wan’s face went into his hands— he was an _idiot_ , when in his existence had there ever been a plan? —as Han sputtered that the galaxy was counting on them!

Finn brushed it off, saying that they’d figure it out— they’d use the Force!

_Use the…?_

Obi Wan didn’t even have the time to be properly scandalized at what had just come out of Finn’s mouth before Han beat him to it, squawking that _that wasn’t how the Force worked!_

That the statement came from Han Solo, of all people, was what did Obi Wan in. 

The laughter bubbled up, building in his throat until he finally released it in a sniggering fit most undignified to a Jedi Master, trying his best to hide the snickers behind his hand and failing completely.

Meanwhile, Han had just snapped at Chewie for complaining about the cold, but Finn had grown restless and gestured for them to move. 

Obi Wan had finally gotten himself back under control, but as he moved to follow, he caught sight of Finn’s determined expression, which would have been assuring in any other light if he hadn’t been wearing the same one when he said—

_”Use the Force…”_

And there he went again, oh dear.

Trying desperately to pull it together, Obi Wan was torn between being thankful Anakin wasn’t there to see him like this and regretting his absence because he knew his former apprentice would have found it just as funny.

“Finn,” Obi Wan wheezed, drying his eyes with his robe sleeve. “I’m not sure if the Force is with you or not, but I most certainly am, and I will absolutely assist you in using the Force however I can.”

Finn didn’t respond to his declaration, but that was alright, Obi Wan decided. 

“Thank you,” he added more quietly to Finn. He hadn’t laughed like that in a while.

Obi Wan’s good humor didn’t last long as they approached the base and he caught sight of the giant, flaming laser in the distance draining the life and the light from the sky above, but he was grateful for it all the same.

The group slipped through a side entrance fairly easily, taking out various troopers— Obi Wan resolutely ignored the kill-shots, ending the lives of soldiers who hadn’t been given a choice —with swiftness and skill, and Obi Wan firmly shook off clinging cobwebs of the past as he watched Han and Chewie in particular.

As Chewie took out another trooper, Han turned to Finn. “The longer we’re here, the less luck we’re going to have. The shields?”

Finn claimed he had an idea, moving down to where Chewie had tossed the latest trooper corpse. The others following, Finn gingerly lifted the helmet from the man’s body— Obi Wan wondered if his mind was messing with him, or did the dead man’s face really look like his own? —and placed it on his own head. 

“Hello, yes, we have a situation 19-23 in…” Finn paused momentarily, checking his surroundings. “In corridor 4, level 1, I repeat, 19-23 in corridor 4, level one. Requesting assistance?”

He stiffened now, as a tinny voice traveled back across the radio to him, and he practically threw the helmet off his head. 

“Phasma’s on her way,” Finn said faintly, face growing haggard. “We capture her, she can turn the shields off.”

“Finn, how could they ever make you work sanitation?” Obi Wan demanded, impressed by both his cleverness and bravery.

Han clapped Finn on the shoulder. “There we go. Let’s give her a welcome.”

Finn swallowed, setting his face back to a determined expression. “I’ll be ready.”

The trap went off without a hitch, Chewie moving the instant something chrome and shiny appeared in their vision. 

They pulled Phasma off to the side, Finn immediately putting a gun to his former captain, brown eyes blazing.

“Remember me?”

“FN-2187.” Phasma’s voice dripped with disdain, as if she had just found a particularly large bug in her sheets.

Obi Wan winced on Finn’s behalf, but Finn’s smile just widened vindictively. “Not anymore. The name's Finn, and I'm in charge. I'm in charge now, Phasma. I'm in charge!”

Han warned Finn to bring it down, but Obi Wan was smiling. “Come now, Han, let Finn have this. He more than deserves it.”

Finn led them towards the control room, and Obi Wan noticed with a fond grin when Han “accidentally” stepped on Phasma’s cape every other step, muttering a “Sorry. So sorry about that. I’m getting blinded by your shininess. My mistake.”

 _”Bring it down, Han,”_ Chewie teased in amusement, death grip around Phasma’s neck tightening slightly.

Han’s lip quirked. “What was that, Chewie? Her shininess deafened me too, you gotta speak up.”

As Finn finally made his way into a room that had a set of controls, he gestured with his gun for his companions and prisoner to follow.

Obi Wan hummed, remarking to himself that it really was quite fortunate that so far, neither Rey or Finn and his group had really stumbled across a crowded room of trouble yet.

He refrained from saying so aloud because really now, that was just _asking_ to be jinxed.

Chewie ushered Phasma through the door and sat her down at a chair in front of the panels, all three men pointing their weapons at her. Phasma hesitated slightly, helmet staring at Finn, but one twitch from Han’s blaster and she turned and began pressing buttons slowly.

Finn threatened to blast the bucket off her head if she didn’t lower the shields.

Phasma responded that Finn was making a mistake.

Obi Wan scoffed. “Oh, I doubt that.”

Finn gripped his gun tighter and repeated for her to do it.

Chewie rumbled, _”Now”_.

Phasma hit a few more buttons and there was a beeping click from the panel. The controls informed them that the shield disabling sequence was initiating.

Obi Wan relaxed for a moment, before reminding himself that the First Order had found D’Qar and began frantically trying to do calculations in his head of how long it would take Poe and the X-Wings to get here vs. how long left Starkiller had to charge.

Finn was saying to Han that if this worked, they wouldn’t have much time to find Rey.

“Don’t worry, kid,” Han assured him. “We won’t leave here without her.”

Something in Obi Wan’s heart lightened at hearing him say that. “You’re a good man, Han Solo.”

SHIELDS DISABLED, the controls interrupted.

"Wonderful," Obi Wan said in relief. "Now, let's get going—"

“You can’t be so stupid as to think this will be easy,” Phasma’s sneer sounded from next to them. “My troops will storm this block and kill you all.”

It sounded weak to Obi Wan, and with a spark of pride he realized it must sound that way to Finn as well, as he barely even registered her threat. “I disagree,” he said simply.

Finn then turned to Han, asking what they should do with her.

Obi Wan made a face. “I’m hesitant to say kill her.”

Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be Han’s line of thinking. A devious smirk was creeping across his face, and his eyes were flicking from Phasma to Finn.

Obi Wan was instantly on alert, not certain if he was going to like this.

“Is there a garbage chute?” Han suggested lightly. His shit-eating grin grew even wider. “Trash compactor?”

Obi Wan rolled his eyes at this. “Han…”

But Finn was grinning back at him now. “Yeah, there is…”

Obi Wan blinked. “Wait, you’re serious.”

Chemie gave a roar of laughter, and jerked Phasma back to her feet. 

“Well then,” Han said cheerily. “Lead the way, Mr. Sanitation.”

“You’re not actually—“ Obi Wan cut himself off in frustration as the group herded Phasma back out of the room and down the hall, laughing _way too loudly_ for people trying to stay unnoticed. “We don’t have _time_ for shortcuts or petty vendettas!” Obi Wan yelled after them, pinching his nose as he jogged to catch up.

_Honestly. And here I thought that Finn had more sense than Han or Anakin…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally I was gonna have the Kylo confrontation in this too, but that would have made this a GIGANTIC chapter, so I'm saving that for the next one. I really hope you guys tune in for that one, I've got something exciting planned!!!
> 
> I'm skipping Poe's X-Wing scenes entirely, just lettin' everyone know, but you guys will know what's going on.
> 
> Comment for your thoughts? Pretty please??? ;) ;) ;)


	17. The Bit Where There’s The Emotional Last-Act Confrontation With the Stab Happy Darksider (because those always go so well in SW media, amirite?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all in honor of some random person’s birthday today, I present to you a 10K WORD MONSTER!!! Lbr, I reeeeally wanted to get to the Kylo scene today and I did not want to cut it until then so here you guys go! (Btw, as of now we are venturing from the realm of “canon compliant” into “Well _technically_ canon never said this _didn’t_ happen so I’m taking it and running for my life with it until more canon comes to screw me over”

“Okay,” Anakin was telling Rey, who was currently perched at the end of a long walkway, other end leading to a hangar full of TIEs to make an escape. “There are a _lot_ of troopers over there, and they’re all looking for you. Maybe don’t use this way to get in? If you double back, there’s—“

Sounds of voices behind them startled both ghost and living. Rey’s eyes flashed, and before Anakin could do anything, she was darting across the walkway, somehow not attracting the attention of the troops on the other side, and hopping off the side.

“Rey!” Anakin did _not_ yelp, hurrying over to where she had disappeared. What was it with kids he was watching and flinging themselves into bottomless chasms?

His breath caught in relief as he looked over and saw Rey in a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the walk, dangling precariously. 

“Force, kid, give a dead man a heart attack, will you?”

Rey didn’t seem to hear him then, choosing instead to keep quiet and unnoticed as the troopers she had been avoiding made their way across the bridge. Although she couldn’t see them from her viewpoint, brown eyes traced their path in the Force calculatingly.

Anakin followed her gaze and shook his head. “You aren’t getting out that way. That’ll get you caught. Turn back.”

Thankfully, Rey only hesitated for a moment before starting to quickly but carefully inch her way back down the walk in the direction she had came from. Not liking the “hanging above oblivion” bit at all, Anakin peeked above the walk. “Coast is clear for now. Why don’t you pull yourself back up? I’m not too sure if I can catch you if you slip, you know.”

Rey instead decided to scare the Sith hells out of him again by swinging off the edge of the walk, flinging herself through the open air to catch the paneling of the wall perpendicular to the walk.

Anakin could feel his eyelid twitching. There was no need to jump and risk falling like that. 

The panel was actually a service hatch, he realized as Rey fiddled with it, forcing it open and squeezing inside to get to the other side. Grumbling to himself, Anakin climbed in after her only to realize that oh look, there was another endless drop over here too, how wonderful.

“You should be very thankful it’s me watching you here, not Obi Wan,” Anakin told Rey. “He’d probably be trying to give backseat climbing advice the whole time. And that would probably spook you and you’d probably fall…” Anakin trailed off with another wary look at the pit below them, quickly looking back at Rey. “Actually, you probably shouldn’t be listening to me right now. Just don’t look down, okay?”

Rey, focused on her climbing, gave no signs of noticing him.

Anakin chose to try and casually lean against the atrium wall Rey was currently scaling, eyes flicking to the other side of the gap, where a window overlooked the giant space. He figured he’d keep an eye on that, alert Rey to any coming troopers who might see her if they glanced outwards.

For a base on apparent escaped prisoner-lockdown, however, the hallway seen through the window remained surprisingly empty, which was fortunate for Rey, but suspicious to Anakin.

_Where is everyone?_

* * *  
Obi Wan still couldn’t believe they had actually taken the time to dump Phasma down the trash chute.

“You could have found Rey at least ten minutes ago,” he scolded Han as he and Chewie followed Finn down another bland grey corridor. “And, thanks the struggle she put up getting her in there, now you and Chewie both smell pleasantly of garbage.”

Han obviously didn’t respond and Obi Wan just shook his head again, electing to move up the procession line and walk next to Finn, who had chosen to stand back so he could watch Phasma being shoved in, and was therefore the best-smelling of the group. Finn had told them he could get them to a junction area that would be central enough to both cause a diversion that would draw attention as well as provide an easy route down to the prison levels where he had correctly guessed Rey was being held.

She _was_ being held there, Obi Wan thought worriedly, remembering that he had last seen Rey and Anakin on this floor. He just hoped that Anakin had managed to keep her from straying too far away, or at least that the explosion that Han and Finn were planning would draw Rey there so they could find her.

Or, he chided himself, he could trust in the Force that Rey could find her way back to them, and focus on the now. Taking a deep breath, Obi Wan forcibly calmed his mind, allowing the current of the Force to flow through him.

He resolutely ignored the prickles of unease that it buffeted him with.

He opened his eyes, reexamined the situation and—

_Well, what do you know?_

Unable to help the wide smile growing on his face, Obi Wan sped up past Finn in the direction of the presence he knew best. Hurrying down the halls, guided by the feeling, he finally arrived at an area with a window opening up into the wide cavern of the base’s inner technical system.

Obi Wan’s senses hadn’t deceived him either; moving closer he could see that clinging to the far wall, made tiny by the sheer size of the area around her, was Rey.

Not wanting to distract her while she was climbing, Obi Wan decided to instead reach out in the Force and poke at the slightly larger blue-ish figure floating next to her who was radiating anxiety so loudly Obi Wan could feel it from here. He suppressed a chuckle of amusement as Anakin shot a good couple meters into the air before whirling around with a wide-eyed expression and a hand clutching his chest, obviously not having sensed Obi Wan in return. Upon recognizing his Master, Anakin’s face split into a grin, sending Obi Wan back a fond nudge in the Force.

Rey paused for a moment, hesitating on where to put her hand next, and Anakin’s gaze shifted to her momentarily before snapping back to Obi Wan, grin decidedly guiltier this time as he pointed at Rey and offered a thumbs-up.

Obi Wan rolled his eyes at him, pushing fond exasperation back across their Bond, before turning back where more familiar presences seemed to have caught up to him. 

Rolling into the room were Finn, Han, and Chewie, and this was all way too damn convenient. Obi Wan had to begrudgingly admit that if his companions hadn’t taken the time to throw out Phasma, they very well may not have came across Rey at this moment.

They didn’t seem to realize they had found her yet, however, as all three were currently engrossed in planning how to set off the explosives Chewie was pulling out of his shoulder bag. 

Obi Wan whistled at them, giving them a prod with the Force.

He was thoroughly ignored.

Obi Wan huffed in frustration, sparing a moment to be amused when Finn answered Han’s question if he was ready with a “Hell no”, and hit the group with a stronger Force wave. “Hello? Something you want to see over here.”

Nothing.

There were times when being a powerful spirit of the Force had its perks. This was not one of them.

Obi Wan nodded. “Right then.” Gathering up a good fistful of Force energy, Obi Wan aimed so it would hit the window and not any of the living people— that was for if this plan didn’t work —and threw it, creating a decent-sounding _Thunk_ on impact.

Finn _still_ didn’t look up from his admittedly-clever planning on the fly and Chewie didn’t seem to hear it either, and Obi Wan was starting to grow quite annoyed, but then Han’s head turned towards the noise. Han’s eyes widened minutely in surprise, and Obi Wan swept his hand out in a mocking gesture of grandeur. “He notices!”

Now Obi Wan could sit back and watch in amusement as Finn babbled on while Han continually tried to get Finn’s attention by jerking his head in the direction of the window.

At last, Finn rounded on Han in irritation. “Why are you doing _this_?” He pointed his chin in a mimicry of Han. “I’m trying to come up with a plan—“

Finally, _finally_ , Finn caught Han’s meaning and turned to the window. Finn froze for a single heartbeat upon spotting Rey on the other side, before taking off in a sprint down the hallway, Han starting after him yelling “Kid, wait!”, Chewie on his heels and swearing as he struggled to get the explosives back into the bag. Obi Wan watched them go, fondness for all of them overtaking any remaining negative feelings for being ignored.

After all, Obi Wan thought to himself, the only reason Finn had taken so long to notice anyone was because he was so engrossed in his worry for Rey.

He started at the sensation of sharp poking at his back, realizing guiltily that he himself could be accused of not listening, turning back to the window where Anakin had been calling him for at least a couple minutes.

 _Sorry!_ Obi Wan mouthed to Anakin, who gave him an unimpressed look Obi Wan suspected might have been learned from him.

 _Come here,_ Anakin mouthed back to him, motioning for him to move closer. 

Obi Wan shook his head, pointing towards where Finn and company had vanished, but Anakin just made more insistent hand gestures so Obi Wan sighed and shifted to Anakin’s side. “You called?”

“Yes, I did, thanks for noticing right away. What was going on up there?” Anakin demanded. “Were Finn and Han still with you? I thought I felt them.”

“Well, before I was summoned away so abruptly, I was watching them,” Obi Wan shot back.

Anakin perked up. “Tell me they saw Rey.”

“They saw her,” Obi Wan told him, Anakin’s relief mixing in with his own. “Finn was just running right off to meet her.”

“He’s not climbing down here, is he?” Anakin was only half-joking, not taking any chances whatsoever.

Obi Wan snorted. “I won’t lie, part of me wants to see Finn suggest it just to see Han’s reaction.”

Anakin gave a bark of laughter at that, and on the other side, Rey hesitated. Obi Wan tapped his partner’s shoulder. “Quietly, quietly, we can’t startle Rey.”

Anakin’s face instantly sobered as he looked at Rey worriedly, and Obi Wan could kick himself for chasing away that smile. “Hey now, I never said stop entirely.”

“No,” Anakin shook his head. “You’re right, we need to be more serious, not put Rey in even _more_ danger. Not when she’s so close.”

“Us worrying ourselves senselessly won’t do her any good,” Obi Wan told him. “You’re right, they're almost there, and we need to be calm and ready if they need us.”

“But what can we do?” Anakin protested, the Force swirling around the both of them taunting, holding answers just out of reach. “I know you’ve been feeling how uneasy everything is, something is going to _happen_.”

Obi Wan hesitated, unable to deny the bubble of uncertainty he had felt surrounding them ever since they had left for Starkiller. “The only thing to do now is wait for it.”

Anakin clenched his jaw. “Fine. But if it’s something I don’t like, I’m not going to wait, I’m going to move. Whatever it is can karking keep up.”

“Anakin,” Obi Wan sighed, but Anakin was already moving past him, heading up to where Rey had covered some space away from them.

Eventually, Rey reached the access door at the top of the wall, a knot in Anakin’s chest unraveling the slightest bit when she inched it open with the Force and squeezed through onto solid ground.

Obi Wan perked up immediately, though. “Bloody perfect timing.”

Anakin tensed, sensing it himself. _No way. We’re never that lucky._

Apparently, they were that lucky, as not two seconds later, Finn, Han, and Chewie came barreling around the corner behind Rey, who whirled around, stolen blaster at the ready, and froze.

The three men did not, crowding her instantly. Han, voice gruffer than usual, asked Rey if she was alright, though his eyes gave his worry away. Rey responded with a shaky affirmative.

Finn pushed through, demanding to know what happened; did Kylo Ren hurt her?

Obi Wan couldn’t help but smile at the way Rey’s face lit up upon seeing Finn. Anakin apparently felt the same, for his hand was suddenly gripping Obi Wan’s tightly, and he didn’t know how it had gotten there.

“We came back for you.” Finn’s response to Rey’s question of what he was doing there was many things; relief at his success, an apology for how he had left her the last time, and a promise, that he was never going to leave her again. That he would always come back.

Rey’s eyes were suddenly bright and Anakin had to comment. “Forget about Jakku, kid.” Rey’s family had had more than enough time to come back for her. Someone else had beaten them to it, and now Rey hopefully would be able to see where she truly belonged.

Obi Wan hushed him, only half-meaning it and privately, more than agreeing with him.

Chewie chimed in that it was all Finn’s idea, and when Finn asked for a translation, Rey turned back to repeat it to him, her face possibly the happiest either ghost had ever seen it. Finn gave an awkward smile, and the two of them melted into an embrace.

“Okay,” Anakin murmured. “These two better be just fine after all of this is over. They _have_ to.” If they weren’t, well, he didn’t know exactly who he would have to fight, but he was absolutely going to fight them.

Obi Wan hummed. “I’d be a lot more comfortable with that statement if they were out of this dreadful place.”

“You’re right,” Anakin agreed, hating to break up the reunion, but knowing it was time. “We need to get moving again.”

Han thankfully had arrived at the same conclusion. “Escape now, hug later,” Han told Finn and Rey, voice soft but command clear. It was time to leave.

As the living and the ghosts raced through the corridors, Finn leading the way to an exit of some sort, the euphoria of finding each other began to slowly wear off, urgency and that prickly, pulsing discomfort bleeding back through the surrounding Force. Anakin and Obi Wan shot each other knowing looks. 

At one point, Anakin shot forward and hissed “Turn left!” into Finn’s ear, Finn turning so abruptly that Rey almost skidded out behind him before Chewie caught her.

Anakin responded to Obi Wan's glare by saying “Ben’s the other way. He’s not on this floor, but still way too damn close.”

“Shit,” Obi Wan replied. The Force-damned toxicity and Darkness of the entire planet was making it more than difficult to keep track of Kylo Ren’s presence in the Force; he was glad that Anakin at least had better luck keeping a metaphorical eye out for his wayward kin.

“Rey’s bright as a signal flare and now she’s right next to Kylo’s father,” Obi Wan told Anakin. “We’re a moving neon target right now; we need to pick up the pace.”

Eventually, they turned into a hallway that led to an open maintenance door, two shots from Chewie’s bowcaster taking out the guards. As they moved towards it, snowy gusts of wind made their way to meet the group. Rey couldn’t suppress her gasp, and Han, having heard it, turned and reexamined her lightweight, short-sleeved apparel. He halted, motioning for the group to wait. Anakin was bouncing on his heels. “What’s he doing? Why did they stop?”

“It’s gonna be cold out there, kid,” Han told Rey. “I know it can be a bit of a shock for desert-worlders, so...” Awkwardly, he started to pull off his jacket to give to Rey.

Obi Wan smiled at this, recalling all the years before when he watched over Luke, how he would more often than not end up stealing Han’s jacket— or in extreme cases, Leia’s —to put on over the millions of layers he was already wearing whenever they landed on a planet more than mildly frigid. Of course Han would still remember to look out for someone being cold.

Anakin, a desert-worlder himself, was busy trying to decide on whether Han was being insulting or not.

Finn hurriedly stepped in. “It’s alright, she can have mine.” Shrugging off his jacket, he handed over. “I’ve still got the trooper underarmor on; it’s meant to retain body heat in cold climates. Also, no offense, Solo, but you kinda smell like the trash chute.”

“I told you so!” Obi Wan exclaimed as Han glared at Finn and a laughing Chewie. Anakin was cocking his head, watching as Rey smiled and accepted the jacket from Finn. “That jacket’s gone on quite the adventure, hasn’t it? Let’s hope it brings Rey some good luck.”

“Don’t be superstitious,” Obi Wan told him as the group headed for the exit again, this time making it through the doors and into the snow before Han once again motioned for a halt. 

Anakin would let it slide this time, however. The sky was a smoke-filled chaos, X-Wings hurtling through the air, blasting and dodging swarms of TIE fighters and base missiles. The X-Wings were obviously outnumbered, and running out of time if the darkening sky now illuminated by the giant siphoning laser was anything to go by.

Anakin said several choice Huttese swear words. “They haven’t managed to get anywhere near that oscillator, have they?”

Obi Wan shook his head. “No. Judging by the amount of daylight left, we should really hope they hit it soon. Is the Resistance evacuating D’Qar?”

“There’s no way they’d be able to get everything out that quickly,” Anakin said. “There’s no point.”

The Force was bubbling around them, waiting, waiting, waiting for…

In the living world, everyone was looking at each other. Han voiced what everyone was thinking. “They’re in trouble. We can’t leave.”

The Force went taut as a pulled string.

Obi Wan exhaled slowly through his nose. _Oh no…_

“Wait, what?” Anakin said.

Han turned to Finn, mentioning Chewie's bag of explosives they had yet to use.

Anakin pointed at Han. “No. No no no no no. No, you guys need to leave right now.”

“Anakin,” Obi Wan said softly. “They can help.”

“They are in _danger_ the longer they stay here!” Anakin snapped. “Those explosives aren’t enough to damage the oscillator anyway; one of the ships up there…” He trailed off, watching the sky intensely for a moment before turning back to Obi Wan with a wild light in his eyes. “The ships. You know what? Poe’s in one of those fighters, I can find him. I can find his X-Wing, grab the controls, get him in past those TIEs and get him that damn shot myself. I know I'm good enough to make it. He won’t min—“

“Anakin, no!” Obi Wan lunged out to grab Anakin’s arm as he turned, seemingly getting ready to vanish and do something immensely stupid. “That isn’t going to work and you know it.”

“It could work!” Anakin shot back, wrenching his arm out of Obi Wan’s grip. “Okay, fine. New plan. We run back to Ahch-To, find Yoda—“

“—Yoda?”

“— and have him tell us how to do the Force lightning bit. I know he knows how to. I bet between all of us using it, we could probably knock that os—“

Obi Wan stepped forward and grabbed both of Anakin’s shoulders, forcing him to face him and look him in the eye. “ _Stop._ Just, stop. Please.”

Anakin stopped. Blue eyes meeting Obi Wan’s desperately, his face fell and he slumped in Obi Wan’s arms. “I just—“ he started.

“I know,” Obi Wan told him. “We both can feel that they shouldn’t go back, and I don’t like their plan any more than you do. But be honest with yourself, Anakin, they’re right there and they have the opportunity to make a difference that could change everything. Han said it himself earlier, the galaxy is counting on them. If you were in their position, can you really tell me you wouldn’t do the same?”

Anakin’s voice was dark. “I was in the position to destroy two Death Stars if I wanted, Obi Wan. I never did.”

Obi Wan’s fingers on his shoulders dug in deeper. “What would _Anakin Skywalker_ do?”

Anakin’s eyes drifted over to where Finn, Rey, Han, and Chewie were now huddling together speaking in hushed urgency, and felt something settle in the bottom of his stomach. “Probably something laserbrained and impulsive. But,” he turned back to meet Obi Wan’s gaze. “I’d also most likely be the one to suggest using the explosives in the first place.”

Obi Wan winced at the dull finality in Anakin’s tone. “I think I would too,” he admitted with a sigh.

“No, you’d have a better plan.” Anakin’s response was immediate, and Obi Wan felt the ghost of a smile flit across his face.

“I’m flattered. However…” Obi Wan lost his train of thought as the group in front of them split apart, Han clapping his hands together and going over for everyone how Rey and Finn were going to go find one of the outer junction stations and override the controls to allow access to the inner workings of the oscillator. Once done, they would double back and meet Chewie and Han, who were the ones sneaking in and manually setting the charges on the oscillator themselves. 

Obi Wan found himself drawn to Han in particular, the older man giving last advice to his younger companions, clapping Finn on the back and checking the gun he had given her so long ago before giving it back to her with an encouraging nod. His eyes were shadowed, yet the warmth in them shone through. Han had barely known these two kids for a day, and he already had taken them under his wing, known, despite his claim of no Force-sense, that they were special. 

Obi Wan understood Han completely.

“Sometimes,” Obi Wan murmured. “You just have to do what needs to be done, make your peace with the consequences, and hope that in the grand scheme of things, your actions were enough.”

Anakin sucked in a deep breath, tilting his head back and watching the aerial battle from above. Another X-Wing took a hit and spiraled, bursting apart in a cloud of flame. “I hate this,” he said eventually.

“So do I,” replied Obi Wan.

Chewie had just reached out to pull Finn and Rey into tight, one-armed hugs, rubbing an affectionate paw over the tops of their heads. Releasing them, he stood back, and the two pairs stared at each other.

Han opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, then nodded. “Good luck, kids. We’ll see you soon.”

Rey and Finn both nodded eagerly, turning and walking off as Finn started talking about how it would be quicker there and back if they stole one of the speeders he knew were parked around here.

Han’s jaw twitched as he watched them go, calling out a last “Hey! Big deal!”

Finn looked back, brow arched. “Yeah, Solo?”

Rey was giving the both of them a puzzled stare.

Han was silent for a moment, mouth curved into a crooked smirk. “If you run into any trouble…” He pointed at Finn knowingly. “You use that Force real good, you got it?”

Obi Wan let out a choked snort despite himself, and Anakin looked between him and Han in bewilderment. “What? What am I missing?”

Rey too seemed confused as Finn gave Han a sheepish grin. “You got it!”

“ _What?_ ” Anakin repeated insistently as Obi Wan snorted again, covering his mouth hastily.

“I’ll, ah, I’ll tell you later,” Obi Wan managed.

Han waved the kids away. “Go on now, off with you!” He gave the tiniest of smiles when he received two identical waves in return.

Rey was asking Finn much the same question as Anakin as they started moving again. “What were you and Han talking about?”

Finn’s voice was light. “Oh, if we’re in a jam, we’re supposed to use the Force.”

A pause as Rey tilted her head in consideration. “Alright. I can do that.”

Now it was Finn’s turn to be confused. “You can?”

Obi Wan’s eyebrows raised. _Oh dear. Watch out, Finn, you’re in for a surprise._

The two moved out of hearing range now, Rey talking animatedly to Finn, and Obi Wan looked at Anakin. “I thought you would want to go with them.”

Anakin was staring at the ground, scuffing his feet. “I’m actually going to find Ben.”

Everything stopped. Obi Wan felt ice run up his spine. “You… you’re going to be with Ben?”

Anakin gave a shaky jerk of his shoulders. “He’s still inside there, he’s still looking. Our friends got real lucky no one saw them the first time; I’m going to try and keep Ben’s attention. Distract him, you know?”

Obi Wan was staring at him worriedly and Anakin huffed a breath. “I’ll be _fine,_ Master. It’s… something’s telling me I have to be there.”

The conflict in Anakin was easy to sense, and Obi Wan felt a small flicker of pride at the way Anakin seemed to be resolutely pushing past it, jaw set stubbornly and eyes shining with determination.

Obi Wan dipped his head. “Then you should go to him.” He was then struck, the Force a strand of electricity zinging through him, and at that moment he knew what _he_ had to do. “I’ll go with Han.”

Anakin did a double take. “Han?”

“Yes, Han,” Obi Wan repeated, feeling even more certain as he said it. “His job is the riskier of the two, he and Chewbacca should have someone else there to watch their backs, just in case.” He hesitated a moment. “Also, as you mentioned, Kylo Ren will be there and he will be looking for his father. I can’t promise much, but if I could shield Han’s presence even the slightest bit, it could make him all the more difficult to find.”

Now it was Anakin’s turn to stare at Obi Wan unhappily, but deep down, both knew the time for arguing was over. 

Few things were certain in the Force, but one complete certainty was that if Anakin was to be with Ben Solo, Obi Wan had to be with Han Solo. It was how things were supposed to be.

“Han’s already on his way back in,” Anakin said finally, gesturing with his chin over his shoulder, where Han and Chewie could be seen trekking back up the snowy hill towards the Starkiller facility. “We should probably get going.”

“We should,” Obi Wan agreed. Moving to leave, he stopped for a moment to reach out and fuss with the collars of Anakin’s collars. “Sorry, these were uneven, it would have bothered me if I left you like this,” Obi Wan muttered, straightening the lines he knew would just return to their disarray ten seconds later anyway. Clutching the fabric in his hands, he looked up at his partner. “Anakin. Please be careful.”

Anakin gave him a tired smile, brushing the loose strands of hair Obi Wan could never quite keep from falling into his eyes up and off his Master’s face. “Only if you are.”

That was as close to a promise as he was going to get out of Anakin, so Obi Wan was going to take it. “Thank you, I will. When should I meet you?”

Anakin thought on it. “No matter how stealthy they’re being, Ben’s going to know when they blow the oscillator, and then it doesn’t matter if I can distract him or not, he’ll be after you either way. How about this: when it goes, I’ll come find you and then we can all run like hells together.”

Obi Wan bit his cheek. It wasn’t the worst plan he had been a part of, he told himself; he wouldn’t even put it in the top fifty. So, despite the sticky tingling sensation he felt all around him, he ran one last hand over Anakin’s smoothened tunics and stepped back. “Sounds good to me. I’ll see you there?”

“See you there,” Anakin agreed, taking a deep breath before pivoting on his heel and spiriting away.

Obi Wan took a last moment to stare at the dying sky slowly melting into permanent night, before quickly looking away and heading up after Han.

Nothing good ever happened at the twilight.

Twilight was when things fell.

* * *  
Anakin appeared to see the looming black shadow of his grandson stalking down the corridor, troopers at his back. The Force around him bit and snarled in an enraged storm, permeated only by the reek of fear. Anakin steadied his nerves, starting forward. 

He could work with fear.

“Hey, Ben,” Anakin said, changing his walk to match their strides. He extended his mind towards that cloud of fear, hoping it may lead to a crack in Ben’s shields he could get in and use.

The second Anakin made contact, however, Ben’s aura shrieked in defensive rage, lashing out and clawing at Anakin’s mind. Gasping in pain, Anakin reeled back, clutching his head at the stream of thoughts that made their way through his mind.

_He was here._

Why _was he here?_

_What did the old fool hope to accomplish?_

_Save the girl?_

_No. No, Ren had plans for her. He had plans for everything._

_And Han Solo was not part of those plans._

_No, he had given up the right to be a part of Ben’s life a long time ago._

_Ren’s life._

_He was Kylo Ren._

_Ben Solo was nothing._

_Han Solo was more than nothing, as was his wife who lied to herself and her son and to everyone. Who lived in denial._

_They were deluded. They were cowardly. They were a_ weakness.

_Why was he here??? He wasn’t stupid, didn’t he know? He had to know, Ren couldn’t just—_

_He couldn’t._

_He was—_

_Weak. WeakweakweakweakweakweakWEAK—_

Anakin burst through the barrage of anger and misery, panting. He refocused on the point of fear. Those thoughts had come out of it when he had touched it. It was a crack. He could use it and finally get through to his grandson.

“Ben, listen to me,” Anakin pleaded. “Han’s come because _he loves you_. Your mother loves you. _I_ love you. You’re our family and nothing you’ve done or could do would ever change that.”

Ben’s aura spat at Anakin again as the man muttered to himself something about the Supreme Leader testing him. 

Anakin bristled. “Okay, look, kid, I know my Force signature isn’t pristine, but how do I feel anything like that sleemo?”

Ben ignited his warped saber, pointing it in front of him as he marched down the hallway. The terror of the troopers behind him intertwined with the toxicity of his own aura, and it was making Anakin dizzy. He shook his head. He smacked his forehead. _Come on, keep it together._

Drawing the Force around him, Anakin hammered relentlessly at the weak point. “Ben, please. The Light is not a bad thing. It helps you. Hells, it helped _me_ and I’m the biggest mess the galaxy’s ever seen. Come back and you can get better, you can stop hurting. You can even talk to me then, I know it. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

For a heartbeat, something inside Ben wavered, and Anakin’s entire world froze. But the thing was immediately ripped to shreds, claws extending from the crack and slashing at Anakin violently.

_Coward! Weakling!_

_You’re crumpling under the Light’s cruel glare, just as Supreme Leader warned._

_Would you deny his wisdom? His benevolence?_

_For who?_

_Some naïve old man who wasn’t there for you?_

_Who failed you?_

_He made you like this, this is_ his fault.

He _is the reason you’re so weak now._

He _is the reason you can’t reach your full potential._

_Now is the time to show him just how wrong he was about you._

Anakin’s flesh hand was trembling. Grabbing it with his metal one, he crushed it until he couldn’t feel anything. The pain was sharp, but it stabilized him. He had been _so close…_

Forget that, focus on now.

New tactic.

That new surge of thoughts was no stranger to Anakin.

He knew that kind of thinking intimately.

“Ben,” Anakin raised his voice. “Han is not the one you should be angry at. I know it feels like you should be, I know it’s easier to blame him, but blaming someone else for your hurt, for your pain, for the fact that you feel regret, or remorse, or any emotion? Please believe me when I tell you I have _been there_ , and that hate is empty. They never made you do anything, that choice is yours, everything you’ve done is your own kriffing fault, and you’re just lashing out because you know that even after everything, he’d still help you if you only let him. You know he would.”

Shit, he was yelling now. And, his face was wet, perfect. He needed to _get a fucking hold of himself._

Ben had slowed his stride the tiniest bit, and his saber had ben extinguished. The Darkness in his head shifted into a controlled vortex, considering. Could Han help them? 

Anakin jerked back in alarm. “No. No, not like that! That is literally the worst thing you could possibly do, Ben, that will _break you._ ”

He was losing control now, memories spiraling through his head of repetition after repetition, his blade screaming in pain, walking through the ruins of a Sith temple alone with the musty air on his face for the first time in his new life, a tattered brown robe lying crumpled at his feet, and the soul-sucking emptiness that threatened to drown him.

Anakin swallowed, wiping at his eyes. “You think getting rid of him will help?” he spat? “You want to know what happens next? You think your pain will go away when you don’t have to look at him anymore? Well guess what? It’s still there, you haven’t killed the pain, all you’ve done is get rid of the only place you’ve been able to put that pain and hate in. And with that pain gone, you know where it goes? Right back to you.”

Ben was ignoring him again, and Anakin’s heart went into his throat as they reached the lift that would lead them to the oscillator, and at the same time he caught the signatures of Obi Wan, and more faintly, Han.

He put a hand on Ben’s shoulder, trying his damnedest to imagine he was making actual contact. “Unless you can start hating Snoke, kid, you’re just going to hate yourself.”

* * *  
Obi Wan shivered as he brushed up against the presence of Kylo Ren in the Force. He winced further as he caught Anakin’s next to it— and he didn’t seem happy.

Shaking himself, he refocused on his task; drawing on more of the Force and strengthening the blanket shield he was trying to project over Han and Chewie. They were standing in front of a maintenance hatch that would lead to the inner oscillator, having just taken out the guards in front of it and now waiting on Rey to override the lock.

Moments later, there was a clicking noise and the hatch slid open, Han and Chewie wasting no time in moving through, weapons at the ready. Obi Wan found himself gripping his own saber tightly. He hesitated, before choosing to keep it with him. It felt right.

Once inside the cavernous space, the pair started taking explosives from Chewie’s pack, Han saying they should plant the explosives on every other wide column that stretched all the way from the top of the roof down into the unending void below. Obi Wan figured it lead all the way to the planet’s hollowed-out, weaponized core.

He also had an issue with Han’s plan. “I like spacing the charges horizontally, but what about vertically? Wouldn’t detonations at different levels cause more structural damage?”

Chewie thankfully had the same thought, telling Han that they should have higher and lower blasts as well. Han agreed with him, telling Chewie to go up top while he went below. They would meet back here.

The pair split up, Obi Wan knowing immediately to follow Han. As they made their way for the ramp down to the lower levels, Han looked warily over his shoulder, and Obi Wan winced. He had diverted all his shielding to Han when he went off alone, and he just hoped it was enough. 

Both he and Han knew Han was being hunted.

Despite not needing it at all, Obi Wan found himself holding his breath as Han set charge after charge, creeping down lower and lower. He was picking the points he thought would cause the most amount of damage combined, and Obi Wan respected him for that, but he really did wish he would hurry up.

As Han headed down with two more explosives left, from above Obi Wan could feel an icy fog start to billow in the back of his mind.

_Oh stars, no._

Obi Wan looked up worriedly as Kylo Ren’s presence materialized back at the entrance to the oscillator. Again, he could feel Anakin beside him, and once again he flinched back at the swirling storm of emotions. 

_He’s getting in over his head!_

Obi Wan was two seconds from vanishing instantly to go to Anakin’s side when a clattering noise and Han’s quiet “Fuck” brought him out of his panic. Looking down, Han was crawling on his knees, picking up an explosive he had dropped. Obi Wan couldn’t help but gape. Two seconds with his eyes off him and Han had almost managed to blow himself up.

Obi Wan exhaled, forcibly calming his mind. Anakin would be fine. He’d have to be. Obi Wan needed to be here with Han right now.

* * *  
Anakin’s mind was whirling as Ben and the troopers reached the oscillator entrance. “If you’re not going to listen to me,” he bit out, “then at least pay attention to me.”

He extended himself again, only to be violently shoved aside by dark tendrils. Trying desperately to remain in the here and now and not get lost in memories, Anakin took a moment to withdraw and regroup, only realizing his mistake when Ben tensed right up with alarm.

“Shit. Ben, don’t—“

Ben turned to his troops, motioning upwards. “Find them.” With that, he whirled around and made his way down, cloak flapping behind him.

Anakin stood very, very still. 

He was on Starkiller Base.

 _He was on the Death Star_.

Death Star 3.0, he corrected himself. 

He was on Starkiller Base and there were people here who needed him.

Breath shaky, he searched for the Light tendrils dancing around him, pulling them close to him. 

He could do this.

He couldn’t fall apart the way he did when Luke’s temple burned.

He could do this.

Slowly, he started after his grandson.

* * *  
He was coming, and Obi Wan and Han were out of time.

“Turn around,” Obi Wan told Han. “Han, please, turn around now. You need to leave.”

Han, finishing securing the last device he had brought with him, miraculously heard something, stiffening and diving behind a large vertical support. From where Obi Wan was standing, this gave him the perfect viewpoint to get Han’s full reaction when he peeked around the support and laid eyes on his son.

Pain, so prominently radiating off Han that Obi Wan could feel it intensely. In the back of his head, Obi Wan recalled that Han had never actually met Kylo in person in the five years since Kylo’s Fall. “I know,” he told him. “You see the newsfeeds, look at the holos, hear the witness reports, and you think you’re ready. You tell yourself you’ve prepared for the mask, for the Darkness, but then you actually see him and…” Obi Wan trailed off, clearing his throat awkwardly and running a hand over Han’s trembling form.

Just then, Kylo’s helmet turned to stare directly at where Han was hiding, and now Obi Wan caught Anakin’s agonized face. He was flickering, Obi Wan noticed in concern, a warning sign of spiritual instability.

Han shifted and Obi Wan once again checked his priorities. “Move,” he snapped, waving Han towards a narrow power chamber in the wall behind them. Han closed his eyes, darting for it and throwing himself inside.

Kylo was still prowling straight for them, and now Obi Wan could hear Anakin frantically hissing at his grandson, threats or pleads or promises, Obi Wan couldn’t say. Once again drawing back on the well that was the Force, Obi Wan projected the strongest _you notice nothing_ feeling he could, pressing himself against Han in the cramped space and hoping it worked.

Han never took his eyes off of Kylo. Obi Wan felt incredibly, impossibly old. “You don’t need to do this, Han,” he pressed. “This could end badly. There will be another time.”

Kylo walked right up to where Han had been previously hiding, Dark feelers probing at the empty space. Obi Wan watched nervously as Anakin threw his hands up. “Obviously, he’s not here, Ben. Go search the other side if you have to.”

When Kylo pivoted on his heel and headed for the long, flat bridge that bisected the massive chamber, Obi Wan knew there was something seriously wrong when Anakin didn’t so much as react to the fact that Kylo had apparently listened to him. Anakin caught Obi Wan’s gaze, Force signature turbulent and agitated all the way from where he was standing to where his Master was. 

Anakin gave the old military handsigns for _rapid retreat, stealth_ and gestured at Han afterwards, mouthing _Move_ at Obi Wan.

Obi Wan nodded, turning back to where Han had been hidden. To his alarm, Han was drifting in the direction of his son, eyeing him like a starving man would a slice of bread.

Things were coming to a point which Obi Wan knew meant no return. The Force was a whirlwind around the cylindrical chamber and Han Solo only had eyes for his son. Through the pain Obi Wan sensed from Han, he could also sense love. Strong, sorrowful, unbreakable love. He felt a moment of hope. 

Kylo, as he was walking away, was giving off wave after wave of the same prickly uncertainty that had been plaguing Obi Wan and Anakin all day. And Han loved his son. Obi Wan shot a glance at where Anakin was still standing frozen, watching them anxiously. Luke’s love had brought Anakin back to him. 

Anakin made an impatient noise, and when Obi Wan looked again, he noticed that Anakin was floating.

Right, he remembered. Love had saved Anakin, but he had still died. There was always a price.

Love didn’t fix everything.

And try as he did to push down intrusive memories, one particular one surfaced in Obi Wan’s mind.

Fifty-five years ago, he had watched a non-Force wielder walk unarmed towards a Fallen man, hoping that love could chase the dark away. Then, Obi Wan had believed it might. Padmé had reached out, told Anakin she loved him, begged him to come back to her.

She and her love lay dead in front of him but a couple of hours later, leaving Luke and Leia all alone.

So it was for Luke and Leia’s sake that Obi Wan stepped in front of Han, wrapping every bit of Force he could grab into his words. “Han Solo, I don’t care how Force sensitive you say you aren’t, you will heed my words now. I have been where you stand. The path before me was clear. For you, it is not. You have people, Han, many people who care about you. There is much left you can do. I will not toy with fate, but I beg you Han, _please,_ please consider turning around and walking away.”

Han was wavering, eyes shifting from Kylo to the ramp that would be his escape, then back. The Force held its breath.

Han’s emotions shifted, solidifying into the pure, stubborn resolve that had kept him alive up until now. 

And Obi Wan knew.

“May the Force be with you,” Obi Wan whispered, retreating and dropping the shield of protection from around Han’s form.

Han drew himself up, marching right for the end of the catwalk, and shouted his son’s name, all of the pent up emotion releasing in that single syllable.

Obi Wan prayed it was enough.

* * *  
Anakin felt numb. 

He had been too trapped inside his own head to do much more than react to Obi Wan letting Han go, and when Han called for Ben, all Anakin could do was stare at Obi Wan.

Obi Wan finally turned his attention to his partner, lips pursing into a straight line and vanishing to stand right at Anakin’s side in the middle of the catwalk.

Ben’s mask intoned that he had been waiting for this day for a long time, and as Obi Wan made for Anakin, Anakin watched as the scenery around him changed, _they were on more solid ground and the world was tinted red, and Obi Wan was so, so old, and he was calling him Darth—_

“Anakin.” Obi Wan’s strong hands were on his shoulders and Anakin was back on the darkened catwalk and his friend’s youthful, glowing face was right in front of his, those same, sad eyes not changing a day since thirty years ago.

“Here and now,” Obi Wan was repeating to him. “Stay with me, Anakin, here and now.”

Anakin tried to speak, unable to get the words out, and then they were cast in a curtain of silver, dying twilight streaming through an open hatch higher up in the chamber. He glanced up at it and gasped at who he saw gathered on the platform beneath the opening. “Rey. Finn.”

Obi Wan stilled, mind stretching out to confirm but refusing to take his eyes off of Anakin. “Why don’t we go up and watch with them—“

“No,” Anakin insisted, shifting in Obi Wan’s arms so he could see Han and Ben, who were still staring at each other, not saying a word. “It has to be here. I need to see Han do it.”

Obi Wan’s brow furrowed, but another calculating glance at Anakin, and his embrace loosened slightly. He didn’t let go entirely, and Anakin found himself thankful for it.

Han had at last gathered the courage to speak. “Take off that mask. You don’t need it.”

Ben challenged, what did Han think he would see if he did?

“You, Ben,” Anakin whispered, no longer trying to speak directly to his grandson. It was Han’s turn to reach Ben.

Han’s voice cracked with emotion as he responded, the face of his son.

Obi Wan’s arms around Anakin tightened minutely again as Ben’s hands, ever so slowly, raised to his helmet, grasping it and pulling it off.

Anakin felt his throat close, remembering his and Luke’s last moment together while he was alive. The mask was off. Han was doing it.

“Your son is gone,” Ben declared. “He was weak and foolish, like his father. So I destroyed him.”

_Then I will avenge his death…_

Anakin bristled, shoving down _that_ memory. No, this wasn’t like that. This wasn’t then, this was now. Ben wasn’t the mess Anakin had been; he didn’t need avenging when he was still in there. Saying you had killed your old self was the oldest trick in the Dark book, meant to help repress when you were having doubts. Ben was listening, he had taken off his helmet. That meant something.

It had to.

Han shook his head, insisting that was Snoke talking. He knew his son was alive.

_Luke’s crystal-clear gaze. I’m sorry, Your Highness. I am a Jedi like my father before me._

Anakin grabbed where Obi Wan was holding on to him. “Please…”

Ben flared up at this, insisting the Supreme Leader was wise!

“He’s using you,” Obi Wan’s murmur in Anakin’s ear didn’t appear to have been purposefully said aloud.

Han repeated Obi Wan’s words, warning that Ben would be cast aside when Snoke was done with him.

Ben faltered, bleeding emotions revealing that he had already suspecting this for a while. He said that it was too late for him.

“I thought that too, Ben,” Anakin told him urgently. “It’s never too late.”

“No, it’s not. Leave here with me. Come home, we miss you,” Han pleaded.

 _You’re breaking my heart!_ a new voice cried, and Anakin jolted like he had stepped on a live wire. _I love you!_

Anakin wanted to grab at his head, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of Obi Wan. 

No. Not her. Not here, not now. 

This was not like then.

Ben’s entire mood shifted into that of contemplation, eyeing his father warily. His stony second mask cracked, just a bit, and the agony and fear in those dark eyes was clear. “I’m being torn apart,” he got out. “I want to be free of this pain.”

Han immediately made an abortive movement towards his son, parental instinct to soothe his upset clearly tearing him apart as well.

Anakin, on the other hand, who until now had been partially straining in Obi Wan’s grip towards his grandson, suddenly shrunk away.

“Anakin?” Obi Wan’s voice in Anakin’s ear reminded him his Master was watching this too. 

Anakin blinked, watching as Ben begged his father to help him rid himself of the pain. His voice was raw and vulnerable, but his aura had shifted in a way Anakin did not like. Something was wrong.

Anakin tried to clear away the intrusive thought. He was just overreacting because thoughts of Padmé had gotten in his head; Han was helping Ben, just like Luke had him.

Ben, with his earthy brown eyes wide with pain, the same eyes Padmé had when she had stepped towards him, so trusting and sure he would never hurt her, just as Han was doing now, walking slowly towards his son’s outstretched lightsaber and offering him the galaxy.

A spark of alarm shot up Anakin’s spine as behind him, Obi Wan’s breath hitched in a way that would be unnoticeable to anyone besides Anakin. He heard his Master say, hushed but perfectly clear, “Oh no…”

Obi Wan, who had also confronted Vader just as Han had Ben.

Obi Wan, who had been murdered by Vader.

Vader, who upon killing Obi Wan, had felt the most unending, painful sorrow.

That same regret Anakin now recognized in horror as the change in Ben’s aura. He wasn’t anxious. 

He was preparing himself.

_No._

Ben’s eyes, glimmering in regret as Han reached out for his saber.

Padmé’s eyes, glimmering in agonized panic as her husband choked her.

Padmé’s eyes, that Anakin could never, ever see again.

Leia’s eyes, who had shone like this before when the Dark had taken her parents, taken her planet, taken everything from her.

Leia was going to lose Han.

The world began to dim and brighten at the same time as Anakin’s vision went fuzzy. He felt Obi Wan’s arms drop from around him, heard his voice calling his name. The last thing he saw clearly before falling to his knees were Han’s eyes illuminated by red as Kylo Ren’s lightsaber ignited through his chest.

Han’s eyes, glazed with agony, and yet, and yet, still looking on his son, his _murderer_ , with love.

Leia was going to lose that, just like Anakin had lost Padmé.

Han fell past Anakin as Kylo let him drop, his dying light a blur in Anakin’s vision.

Anakin thought, _no._

And then Anakin was leaping off the side, falling after Han into the abyss, focusing on that fading shimmer that was Han Solo. 

Anakin was burning, brighter than he had ever been before.

One of his arms shot out, grabbing for the light.

Anakin _pulled._

Everything went white.

* * *  
Obi Wan had known about the stabbing the moment Ren pulled his saber.

It was a side effect of both watching so many other people he cared about get stabbed and getting stabbed himself; you just learned to sense these things.

So he had prepared for that.

He had _not_ prepared for Anakin to start glowing like a fucking supernova. He was forced to let go of his friend, stand back and cover his eyes, looking back just in time to see, vaguely on the other side of Anakin’s blaze, Ben Solo run his father through.

Then everything happened at once.

Agony was streaming from Han, from Anakin, from Finn and Rey and Chewie, who had all seen the whole thing from above, and Obi Wan had to throw up mental shields of his own to block out all the feedback.

Kylo had said something to his father, before leaning over and casting the body over the side of the catwalk, Rey and Finn were both screaming, Anakin was burning silently at his feet.

Suddenly, Anakin was moving, before Obi Wan could grab him he was pitching over the side of the catwalk after Han’s body, growing brighter and brighter as he went.

Then, the entire cavern lit up, a surge of pure Force energy shooting through the cave, knocking Obi Wan off his feet and almost clear over the other side of the catwalk. The light was white and blinding for a second, and then it was gone, as if it had never been there. Obi Wan struggled back up, ears ringing, and froze.

Anakin and Han were both gone.

No Force signatures.

No sign of Anakin’s ghost. 

Nothing but dead space.

Obi Wan gaped, having absolutely no clue what in the Sith hells was going on.

He had no time to figure it out, either, as Chewie’s heartbreaking cry of _”No!”_ split the air, followed by the metallic singing of the bowcaster.

A bolt of red shot through Kylo’s side, Kylo staggering backwards with little more than a grunt of pain, eyes absolutely, completely blank.

Chewie’s fury broke the silence, stormtroopers emerging from hidden shadows and lighting the entire chamber up laser-red. Obi Wan watched as Finn and Rey joined in, returning fire while still hopelessly outnumbered.

Obi Wan looked around in a daze, still trying to factor everything, when the explosives blew, rocking the entire oscillator and sending debris crashing down. Through everything, Obi Wan’s attention snagged on Kylo Ren. 

Standing tall with a hand clutching the blaster wound in his side, Kylo Ren was staring directly at where Rey and Finn were shooting off their platform. His aura was horribly, terribly frozen, total darkness. His face upon seeing Rey and Finn twisted into hate, and that face was what broke Obi Wan’s spell.

Looking over the side and still sensing no sign of Anakin, Obi Wan took one short heartbeat to mourn the brave, fiery, honest man who was Han Solo. The man who, if Obi Wan had not been approached by a Wookiee when asking around a shady Tatooine cantina about pilots so long ago, may not be dead right now.

Obi Wan took this moment, bowed his head, said a blessing for the dead, then tucked it away along with his guilt and all of his other emotions.

The world was falling apart, and nothing was making sense, and there were people who were struggling and needed someone, anyone, to keep a cool head and take control of the situation.

It seemed that person was always destined to be Obi Wan.

 _Alright,_ Obi Wan told himself. _One thing at a time._

First, Kylo. He had swept off in the direction of Finn and Rey, and Obi Wan needed to get them out of here before Kylo could get to them.

Focusing on Rey’s light, now a flame of anguish, Obi Wan materialized on the platform where the duo were shooting at troopers.

“Rey,” Obi Wan said. “Please believe me when I say I know how much this hurts, I do. You can’t let it cloud your mind, though. You’re in danger here, you need to run.”

Rey’s aura shoved him aside with a snarl, and Obi Wan didn’t waste time trying again. He turned to Finn. “Finn, I know you haven’t heard me as easily before, but you must listen to me now. This is harsh, but there will be time for mourning later. Right now you cannot be focused on Han, you need to focus on staying alive yourself. You know how to do what isn’t easy, Finn.”

Finn stopped, looked over at Rey, and Obi Wan could have cried with relief. “She needs you, Finn. You need to get out of here. Ignore the pain and get moving.”

Lunging forward, Finn hooked an arm around Rey’s waist and bodily hauled her backwards and towards the exit, Rey fighting him the entire time.

“No! No, we can’t leave him! We can’t leave, Finn, he’s _alone!_ ”

Finn’s face was screwed up in pain. “He can’t come back this time, Rey. We have to go.”

Rey let out a sob, straining one last time towards the chamber Finn was half-carrying her away from, and Obi Wan was struck by an image of the young girl in Rey’s vision, crying out hopelessly for the parents that were abandoning her.

 _Not right now,_ Obi Wan told his heart, pushing everything aside and keeping a steady stride. Rey was now running on her own, death grip on Finn’s hand as he led her through the maze of Starkiller base towards the exit.

The maw of darkness greeted them as they finally found an open door, and Obi Wan bit back a curse. The Resistance was almost completely out of time.

Hitting the snow, Rey skidded to a halt. “Wait! Chewbacca!”

Obi Wan did swear now, a real nasty one he had picked up from the clones. He had left someone behind. That was unacceptable.

Finn was trying to yank Rey onwards. “I saw him run out before he blew the charges. He knows where the Falcon is, we’ll meet him there.”

They couldn’t know that for sure. Obi Wan was an idiot.

_How in the hells does anyone even manage to lose a Wookiee? They’re massive!_

Rey met his gaze then, tears running down her face starting to freeze in the cold. Finn met her eyes evenly. “Rey, I promise. We won’t leave without him.”

Rey scanned his eyes, seeming to find what she was looking for, before wiping her face on her sleeve and nodded. “Show me where you parked.”

Obi Wan was now in a dilemma. Either he could leave Finn and Rey behind to go search for Chewie and risk his young charges being found by Kylo, or he could go to protect them and potentially leave Chewie lying dead in a ditch somewhere.

He flinched immediately on that thought. 

Nobody else on this stars-damned mission was dying.

Casting a dark look at the even-darker sky, Obi Wan pulled the hood of his robe over his head, trying to decide what to do.

_It would be easier if…_

“Blast it, Anakin, where are you?”

“M’right here, Master!”

If Obi Wan had a real heart anymore, it most certainly would have given out as Anakin’s voice and Force presence suddenly appearing directly behind him nearly scared him into passing on. 

Obi Wan whipped around to see Anakin standing in front of him, hands clasped behind his back, rocking on his heels, and grinning dopily.

Damned near ready to go off on his partner for leaving him to deal with the shitstorm back in the oscillator alone, Obi Wan paused upon noticing Anakin’s normally halo-bright aura was noticeably… dimmer.

“Are… are you alright, Anakin?”

His former apprentice giggled— and now Obi Wan _knew_ something was wrong. 

“Noooope!” Anakin drawled, swaying in place. “I mean yeah, m’fine, but getting pres’nts is hard.” 

Obi Wan pinched the bridge of his nose. “‘Presents?’” 

“Yeah! F’r Leia!” Anakin’s lazy grin morphed into a pout. “She doezznt like me very much.” 

“Anakin.” Obi Wan was fighting to keep his voice level. “Are you drunk?” It didn’t seem possible. Anakin may be the lightest lightweight Obi Wan had ever met, but even he didn’t have enough time to leave Obi Wan, summon himself some alcohol, and get smashed that quickly, no matter how upset he may be over Han. 

Anakin wrinkled his nose, waving a hand in front of his face. “Ewwww, no. ’T’s Force drain! Ran out gettin’ the gift ‘nd now ‘m on lowwww fuel cell!” He apparently found this hilarious, as he started giggling again. 

Obi Wan opened his mouth, about to demand what the hells Anakin had done to drain himself this badly, when Anakin’s face drooped. “Ugh. ‘M still tired, Master.” Anakin was starting to fade in and out alarmingly. “Gonna go rest a lil’ bit more. D’nt f’rget my thing!” 

Anakin flailed a hand behind him, and when Obi Wan peeked through the darkness, he could vaguely make out a darker lump huddled on the ground in the snow. Then, Anakin’s words landed, and Obi Wan wheeled on him. “Wait, no, Anakin!” 

Anakin was already gone again. 

Obi Wan was going to kill him again when he came back. 

Giving in to impulse and releasing a growl of frustration, Obi Wan marched towards Anakin’s “present”. For a heartbeat, Obi Wan’s resolve to commit murder faded as he determined that the lump in the snow was most definitely a body, and that perhaps Anakin had actually been useful and gone to fetch Chewbacca for him. The warm feeling quickly melted back into annoyance, however, as Obi Wan reassessed and realized that the lump was much too small and much too hairless to be a Wookiee. It appeared to be human.

Now Obi Wan was really peeved. “Anakin, Force ghosts do _not_ kill people.” 

It had to be stress and annoyance that had Obi Wan not paying the closest attention, for he dismissed the faint glow around the body as he approached as a trick of the snow. The body lay face-down, and as Obi Wan stood over it, he frowned. 

_What is it with literally everyone wearing the same jacket as everyone else?_

Then it dawned on him, and Obi Wan actually took a step back. “No. No, no. Anakin, you didn’t.” 

Begging not to see what he knew to be true, Obi Wan very slowly leaned down and grabbed the body’s shoulder, turning it face-up.

No such luck. 

Obi Wan looked into the unconscious, decidedly ghostly face of Han Solo and repeated the clone swear he had said earlier. Then added on a couple more curses just because. 

He was going to _kill_ Anakin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides from a million voices crying out as one, screaming: “THAT’S NOT HOW THE FORCE WORKS!!!1!1!!!1”* Yes, yes, I knowwwww, there’s a strict Force-sensitives only rule for ghosthood but hey, it used to be Lightsiders only before freakin TRoS introduced Ghost!Palpy so Ghost!Han is fair game for me.
> 
> In all seriousness, I understand if this upsets ppl and they don’t want to read the series anymore (I am doing the other two movies and Han will be there) but I had this in mind ever since I started the story, and I’m sticking with it (only one viewer actually predicted it, I forget who, but if that was you, be proud of yourself!!!!)
> 
> So yea, comment if you like, and also if you want me to go on about how twilight is a significant metaphor in TCW/Rebels!!!


	18. And you thought visiting YOUR in-laws was rough...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna open this chapter with a formal apology to my man Obi Wan cuz I just realized that with last chapter, I’ve made him bear witness to two more violent murders throughout this fic and add that up to his canon number of witnessed killings and JESUS CHRIST, my dude, your life is a trainwreck.
> 
> Welcome to the land of em-dashes and italics galore....

Han Solo would like to put it on the record that all that poodoo about death being a peaceful slip away, easier than falling asleep and so on? Yeah, total load of shit. Dying _hurt_.

Although, perhaps it was just the whole lightsaber bit that made it so painful; Han may not have died before, but he had gotten close to it a good number of times, just like he had been stabbed a good number of times— sometimes, those two events were correlated, even— but those times had never felt like this.

Han would give death one thing, at least it was quick. From the moment he heard that familiar rush of plasma igniting and felt his entire body turn to flame, it was only a matter of seconds. Ben’s mouth moving— did he thank him? —and then watching his face disappear as the world swam around him and he felt wind buffeting him, stoking the fire tearing his insides apart. 

While he could still think, names ran through his mind: Chewie, how he never told his oldest friend goodbye, Luke, who he would never get to see again and punch him in the arm for hiding on them, and of his princess; how he had almost, _almost_ made it back to her, pulled off one last miracle for her to huff and scold him over all while her small hands gripped him tight and her face was pinched with disguised worry and love.

The only face that came to mind, however, was his son. The darkness in his eyes. And the sadness. At the end, Han knew he could never blame Ben for what he had done; Han had failed him. Now, as he fell towards a sea of white that was growing closer and closer, with his last breaths Han begged the Force or whatever was out there that someday, Ben could forgive him.

Han was nearly submerged in the soft white glow, when all of a sudden there was a tug in his gut _sideways_ , and the white haze burst into a blinding flash. Rolling sideways, dizziness overtaking him, the flash faded into a soft vortex of black that swept Han away, and then he could think no more.

The next thing he knew, he was no longer floating. Everything was still pitch black, and his ears were ringing, but Han could still feel the unique sensation of being pressed against another body.

A _moving_ body, Han figured out once his brain regained the ability to string more complicated thoughts together. His face, chest, and limbs were awkwardly smushed against scratchy fabric-covered muscle that was shifting and swaying in movement, and there was what had to be a hand with a durasteel grip holding one of his hands and legs together. Alright, he was being carried somewhere. This was fine, Han told himself, making an effort to remain calm as the most obscure of memories surfaced in his brain: 

_He was a young boy, huddling for warmth around a glowing trashbin fire with about a dozen other street urchins on a bitter Corellian winter night. The owner of this fire, a wizened old woman with about two teeth to her name and dark eyes that glittered eerily in the flickering light, rasped out the tale of the Downcast, the lost souls who spent their lives foolishly. They paid for it when, after death, they were escorted by demons down to one of the several levels of Hell, each one deeper and worse than the last, where they were forced to atone for their transgressions in life for eternity._

Though his hearing still felt as if his head was submerged in water, everything muffled and far away, Han could make out rumbling in a tone that sounded distinctly irritated as it vibrated through his carrier to him, and a shiver made its way down his spine. He reassured himself that the muscular shoulders he appeared to be slung across like a sack of vegetables didn’t appear to really be moving _downwards_. 

Maybe Han was in luck; maybe this demon was only taking him to the first level, the minor misdemeanors Hell where the tax-evaders and the weird sleemos who pirated and sold fetish-porn went. One would think that Hell’s first level wouldn’t be this dark, though…

_Wait a minute._

Cautiously, Han decided to try something. For a click or two, nothing happened and he was about to give up, but then, then there was a sliver of silvery light and Han could feel his eyelids slowly starting to open.

At first, Han’s vision was little more than a shadowy blur, and then the world shifted around Han like a ship dropping out of hyperspace, and just as suddenly, _everything_ zoomed into focus. 

Once the headrush receded, Han’s vision replaced the total darkness of his eyelids with a wall of brown fabric that covered nearly all of his vision and seemed to be what his nose was bumping into every other step. 

(Also, it was glowing? What the fuck? Was this normal for dead things?) 

As his head was dangling over the side, whenever it swayed away from the brownnes Han could glimpse a white ground strewn with fallen leaves that looked an awful lot like the snow he, Chewie, and Finn had trudged through not an hour earlier. 

(The ground, Han would note, was _not_ glowing. Maybe it was a dead demon thing? Was _Han_ glowing!?)

Han’s hearing had rushed back in full at the same time his vision had, the grumbling of his companion finally hitting his ears in entirety. “—because he’s _dead_ he thinks his actions don’t have bloody consequences. No, that makes me the bigger fool for assuming that myself. ‘Oh, how much trouble could he _possibly_ cause?’ I said. ‘He’s a ghost’ I said. And yet, here I am, chasing after—“

The words themselves made little sense, but the voice rambling on in annoyance held a clipped Core accent that had Han picturing Hell as a bleak, grey Imperial prison facility. _Or First Order,_ he amended to himself darkly as he once again studied what had to be snow on the ground and thought of Starkiller. 

_Ben!_ a voice inside Han cried out, and he only realized he must have at least murmured it aloud when the grip on his limbs tightened and he felt himself stop moving. “Han?” the voice asked. “Are you awake?”

The voice sounded… concerned, almost, so despite his better judgement towards speaking to hell demons, Han answered back. “Grughhh.” Or tried to, anyway.

That seemed to be enough for the speaker because Han suddenly found the world spinning very quickly as he was swung over and off the shoulders he had been slumped on and landed right on his back, which kriffing _ow_ , his back was _not_ what it used to be, and this was completely unfair. Stupid Hell or afterlife or wherever the fuck he was couldn’t even give an old man a decent set of bones?

As Han lay on his back in pain, a face suddenly appeared hovering over him and now Han was very confused because this guy was way too pretty to be a hell demon. Or, maybe that was the point, he thought wildly. They made the demons good-looking so you could be lured into a false sense of security before they dropped you in the Eternal Torture Pit. Han made an effort to scoot away from the man, but then his back gave another twinge and he decided he’d take his chances.

Hell demon or not, and as he gave the man another once-over, Han was erring on the side of “not”, he could tell at least three things from looking at the man. Firstly, he appeared to be about ten years older than Ben, give or take, the beard making it harder to tell for certain. Secondly, as Han stared into a pair of bright, silvery eyes, he had the strangest feeling that, somehow, Han _knew_ him from somewhere.

Han also had a suspicion that the answer to the second thing might be the third: this man was a Jedi. Of that, Han had no doubt; no one else in the galaxy would be caught wearing those weird brown robes and tunics Luke had decided to start running around in. 

Except for his students, Han amended to himself as a horrifying thought came to him: Ben was not Luke’s earliest student, and he was far from the oldest among the group. The man facing Han was obviously dead, if the blue glow surrounding him was anything to go by, and if he was a bit younger than he looked…

This could very well be one of Luke’s students Ben killed, Han thought with a shiver down his spine. That would be a harsh kind of fairness; Han failed his son in life, so he would be greeted by one of the victims of that failure in death. He hoped to the gods he didn’t believe in that he was wrong, though, that the inkling of familiarity that was prickling at the back of his neck was coming from literally anywhere else.

It was only when the guy started motioning for Han to stand up when Han registered that the man’s mouth had been moving while Han had been staring like an idiot, and wow, Han probably should have been paying attention.

Mildly panicking, he swatted the man’s hands away. “Hey, hey, hang on a second, what? I— _what!?_ ” Well, at least he could make words out of his mouth now.

The man’s face, which up until now had been resting in a state of soft worry, shifted into a deadpan that was decidedly unimpressed. “You weren’t listening to a word I was saying, were you?”

“Of course I was!” Han lied immediately. “I just—“ He feigned a twirling motion around his ear. “I’m getting older, you know? Hearing’s not exactly the best. Also, I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I just _died_ — very painful by the way —and my everything’s still kinda in shock right now, so if you wouldn’t mind repeating for my elderly ears just what the kark is going on?”

The man sighed deeply— and Han swore he caught a miniature eyeroll in there too. “You’re most certainly right that you are in shock right now,” the man admitted. “And I know you must have questions—“

“No _shit._ ”

“—However,” the man continued, expression now turning slightly guilty, “I’ll admit that currently there is no time for me to give you answers.”

Alright. So this was going to be the first time Han shot someone after dying. An admittedly short grace period, but he could live with that. Or, unlive, or whatever. “What do you mean, _’there’s no time’_?” Han hissed dangerously, drawing himself up into a sitting position. “You can’t seriously expect me to—“

“Do you want to see your son?” the man interrupted, and damn if that question didn’t neatly slice Han’s growing bubble of hot air like the stroke of a lightsaber.

“What?” was all Han was able to croak out. He was getting really tired of asking that.

“Do you want to see your son?” the man repeated, grey eyes softening into something sympathetic. “We are on Starkiller Base at the moment. If you wish to see your son, I can take you to him. Finn and Rey too. He’s chasing them, they aren’t far.”

 _Finn. Rey. Ben._ The names circled in Han’s mind, kicking up memories of what had happened in the last moments of his life. Rey, whose bright youth and hopefulness had reminded him of Luke, before the universe hardened him. Finn, whose lostness yet determined care for anyone he came across made Han begrudgingly think back on himself when he was younger. Ben, whose eyes were so dark and so cold and so hurt. 

Han still had about a million questions. He had no reason to trust this man. But Han could not in good conscience abandon those kids, and Han needed to see his son again. “Alright.” His voice cracked and he hated it, but he nodded in assent to the man. “Take me to Ben.”

The man said nothing, simply offered Han a hand and a warm smile and if he didn’t know better, he would have thought the man knew how he felt and was sharing his pain. 

Han winced as he got to his feet— he wasn’t kidding about old age catching up to him —and the other man tutted. “You may want to put on something more comfortable, my friend. I don’t know how stable your form is, so we will be walking and I can’t say for how long.”

Han resolutely ignored the troubling questions of stable forms and what other ways there apparently were to get around to snark at the man. “I didn’t exactly pack a bag before I kicked it.”

The man blinked at him for a second, and Han momentarily had the feeling that he was missing something extremely obvious. “That wasn’t what I— never mind, that can be explained later.” The man cut himself off, gesturing towards a seemingly random point in the dark, snowy woods Han only now fully realized they were standing in, and starting to walk. “They’re this way, follow me.”

Han hurried to follow him, the man’s earlier words of them actually being on Starkiller finally registering in entirety in Han’s brain. “Wait, wait a minute. How can we be on Starkiller? I’m _dead_. I know I’m dead, I felt the stabbing, I saw the light and all of that. If this is a trick—“

The man sighed again, and Han felt like that could grow really annoying really quickly. “I assure you, this is no joke, you are unfortunately dead, and this is the real Starkiller Base.” Han opened his mouth to argue again, but the man wasn’t finished. “As I told you, now is not a good time to stop and explain everything, though I give you my word that I will at the soonest opportunity. You deserve something at the least, so for the moment being, I’ll try and give you the simplified version. Does that sound agreeable to you?”

It didn’t sound agreeable at all to Han, but he knew when to keep prying and when to shut up and take what he was offered. “Fine,” he bit out.

The man nodded. “Right then. Han, do you believe in ghosts?”

Han’s jaw dropped. _He really doesn’t pull his punches, does he?_ “You gotta be kidding me.” He knew Luke could supposedly communicate with the ghosts of his old Jedi masters, and apparently his fucked-up dad too, but…

He took another look at the luminescent blue outline of the other man, then a look down at himself— he _was_ glowing, he noted with no small amount of hysteria. He was wearing the same clothes he had died in, though when he patted his chest there was no gaping hole where Ben’s lightsaber had been— which Han was more than grateful for —just flesh and clothing. Acting on impulse, Han reached out and prodded at the man’s arm, earning himself a curious side eye. That too was solid.

“But we still have bodies,” Han pointed out.

The man hummed. “Not quite,” and _that_ made no fucking sense. This guy also seemed to have uncanny abilities to sense someone trying to argue with him, because when Han again tried to protest, he found himself once again talked over. “We can touch and interact with each other because we exist on the same plane of existence.” The man’s voice was shifting into a very lecture-y tone that Han knew from when Luke tried to explain his weird Jedi stuff to him, and Han would privately confess that he usually ended up zoning out about a couple words about “the will of the Force” in. 

Yeah, yeah, he was horrible, but in Han’s defence, none of that shit made any sense whatsoever.

Slag it, was _Han_ now a part of said weird Jedi stuff? He had the sinking suspicion that he was. Of course this was his life. Afterlife. Whatever.

Still, Han made a titanic effort to pay attention as the man— _ghost?_ — went on. “The galaxy itself holds at least two layers that run parallel to one another, connected and encompassed by the Force. The section of the Force known as the Cosmic Force is where we reside, and while we can connect with one another easily enough, if we try to interact outside it with the realm of the living…” The man trailed off, taking a purposeful step to the right and marching straight _through_ a tree.

Han faltered at this, somehow assured at seeing a ghost do something “ghostlike” for the first time, and yet very unnerved at the prospect of that being something he, Han, could do. He walked up to the tree, trying to work up the courage to move through it himself. He again reached out a tentative hand, moving it towards the tree trunk. 

_This is stupid,_ Han’s mind scolded him. _It’s a_ tree. _People don’t move through trees, idiot._

Han’s fingers brushed against the trunk, and despite all prior knowledge and experience telling him that his hand would meet rough, hard, unyielding tree bark, the tips of Han’s fingers sunk through the tree as if it was nothing more than a holoprojection. He pulled his hand back immediately, not at all liking the strange tingling sensation that came with moving through a fucking solid object.

“Uncomfortable, isn’t it?” Han did _not_ shriek in alarm as he spun around to face the voice that had appeared from behind him out of nowhere, what the hells? The man was definitely smirking at him from under the beard as he again beckoned for Han to follow. “Come now, we really do need to find them.”

Growling to himself, Han again hurried to keep up. “Okay, I get it. So we’re dead, but we’re still in the regular galaxy, we just can’t talk to anyone but other ghosts?”

“With some exceptions, that is the gist of it, yes,” the man said, increasing his pace slightly.

Han suddenly had a thought, self-preservation instincts kicking in. “Wait, wait, wait. How many ghosts are there, exactly? I mean, there’s been a _lot_ of dead people since, you know, the beginning of time, and a couple of those dead people wouldn’t exactly be happy to see me personally, so is there any way I could figure out who’s a ghost and who’s not so I could try and _not_ run into their vengeful spirits or anything?”

The laugh the man gave was decidedly tight. “Oh, you won’t have to worry too much. To my knowledge, including yourself there are now five confirmed spirits residing in the Cosmic Force.”

Han had to have misheard him. “Five… hundred? Thousand? Hundred thousand? _Million?_ ”

The man stared directly at him. “ _Five._ Singular.”

Han’s eyebrows raised. “Oh. Is it… not a popular option?”

The man sped up more, and now Han practically had to jog to keep up. “For mostly everyone, it’s not an attainable option,” the man said, and there was definitely something funny going on in his voice. “It requires years of study and concentration and a complete and total balance with oneself and the Force, which is near impossible to achieve. It is possible, if one is powerful enough, to manage the transition with less prior knowledge if there is someone guiding them from the other side, but you, Han Solo, are the first soul I’ve seen who has been forcibly pulled through the veil by someone else’s will alone.”

One sense Han prided himself on was the ability to know when he wasn’t wanted. “And I can tell you’re just overjoyed to have me here. Look, pal, this is obviously some super-secret Jedi thing, and I’m probably the farthest you can get from that, so why did you bring me here in the first place?”

“I didn’t,” the man responded.

Han didn’t think it was possible to get even more confused. “Then who the hells did? As a matter of fact, who the hells are you, anyway? I know I’ve seen you before, so don’t lie. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

The man cocked his head, slowing slightly and turning to look at Han. “My apologies,” he said smoothly. “I’m afraid that with everything going on, and how well you’ve been taking everything so far—“

Han bit down a hysterical giggle at this, torn between wanting to correct the man that no, he was _not_ taking this well at all, he just had a really good Sabacc face, and feeling slightly flattered at being praised for not freaking the kriff out.

“— I must have assumed you had already recognized me,” the man was continuing. He gave a rueful chuckle. “I’m sure I don’t quite look the same as I did the last time we met. Obi Wan Kenobi. Some know me as Ben.”

Han froze, staring dumbfounded at the hand that was being held out for him to shake. The wrinkled, gnarled hand speckled by sunspots and covered in the calluses and scars of age and use. Han’s gaze moved up the sleeve of the now much more faded and worn brown robe to meet a face with many more creases and lines, hair and beard slightly more wild and now the color of ash as opposed to the tawny they had been before. The twinkling silvery eyes, Han noted, were exactly the same, however, as was the mouth tilted in a mischievous grin.

Han recognized that grin and those eyes, remembering a grimy table in the corner of a shitty bar on a backwater world. He remembered the wide-eyed farm boy practically glowing with his naïveté and he remembered the crooked smile from the old geezer who thought he was the judge on whether Han’s ship was good enough to make it to Alderaan without attracting Imp attention.

Ben Kenobi. His son’s namesake.

Han meant to say something, really, he did, but all he could manage was an undignified gape, unable to even reach out and shake the proffered hand as he was more than a little afraid to touch it.

That didn’t seem to bother Ben— no, _not_ Ben— Obi Wan? — _Kenobi_ ; on the contrary, his old face broke into a wider smile. “Well look at that. You managed to change form!”

“What?” Han said for the umpteenth time, reminding himself that just because this guy now looked liked the kooky old desert wizard again didn’t mean he was actually crazy, and that Han should probably still believe whatever he said— about all this ghost shit, anyway. When Kenobi gestured to Han like that was supposed to explain everything, Han took a look down at his arm and let out a very manly sound of surprise. 

His jacket was missing.

More importantly, _that was not his hand._

While Kenobi’s hand seemed to have aged a good couple of decades, Han’s appeared to have donated those years. Smooth skin, lack of ache in the joints— in his hand as well as everywhere else —and the hairs growing on his wrist that had been a steely grey were now a dark brown Han hadn’t seen for ten years —or more, if he was being completely honest with himself.

Further bodily once-over revealed a belt he had lost decades ago, a vest long-since destroyed by an unfortunate blaster shot, and upon grabbing a handful of hair that was now actually thick enough to pull in front of his eyes to check, Han found the same brown that was on his arms.

“What the _fuck?_ ” Kark, even his voice sounded stronger and less raspy.

“You’re dead,” Kenobi said matter-of-factly. “As we don’t have solid bodies anymore, our souls can manifest in whatever form we wish— within reason. It must be a form we took in life; giving yourself two heads or wings or the face of some holofilm star wouldn’t work because those were never you.”

“ _This_ was not on purpose,” Han snapped, making a sweeping motion towards his younger body in general, still highly unnerved by the whole concept the old man was pushing. 

Kenobi arched an eyebrow. “No, your change appears to be instinctual in response to your recognition of me. As soon as you knew who I was, your form shifted to what you looked like the first time you met me.”

“So you’re saying I’m in my thirties again?”

“Physically, yes. You can always change back if you find the sudden youth is too much for you now, but I will warn that the Force apparently finds it amusing to make you keep the arthritis along with the grey hairs— though you probably have figured that out for yourself by now.” Kenobi gave the lightest of winces. “Speaking of, now that we’ve gotten properly reacquainted I hope you don’t mind if I—“ He raised his arms in a stretch and then in the space between breaths the years melted back off him and he once more stood before Han as a coppery-haired thirty-something.

Han really needed to work on the blatant staring, because Kenobi must have noticed something on his face to reach out and give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to it if you stay here—“

“ _If_ I stay here?”

“— you’ll even learn to do it on a whim. Normally, I only use that older form when I’m visiting Luke; the living tend to take more easily to the form they knew you best in life, but as he’s not here now, I prefer a form with no spiritual joint pain when moving around so often.”

Though he resolved to come back to that whole “if you stay” comment later, Han was too busy latching on to another part of Kenobi’s words. “Wait, go back to the part about visiting Luke—“

“Shhh.”

Kenobi raised a hand to cut him off, and this time Han was going to get angry about it before he noticed the new tenseness in the other man’s form and the way his face went steely serious. Kenobi’s eyes were fixed on a specific patch of dark wood, and though Han squinted, he couldn’t make out what they were on red alert for until it melted out of the blackness like a wraith from the deepest depths of Hell.

Shadowy cape flapping in the icy wind, staggering heavily like a great wounded beast, hollow, empty eyes staring yards away, was the creature known as Kylo Ren. 

Ben Solo.

Han’s son.

Seeing him felt like getting stabbed all over again as a wash of dizziness abruptly came over Han. He staggered but strong hands were immediately gripping his shoulders and a refreshing coolness was spreading from the points of contact.

“Easy, easy,” Kenobi was soothing, holding him up as Han’s legs buckled. “There can be bodily reactions at first to seeing the one who, ah, took part in your passing, or to those who you had strong bonds with in life.” The other ghost’s voice took on a sardonic note. “It’s rather hard to tell which is which when both can be applied to the same person.”

“You think so?” Han panted as Ben lumbered past them.

“I know so,” Kenobi replied, hands on Han now pulling him upright. “Can you walk? We really must move now if he has found Rey and Finn’s trail as well. They’re close.”

Taking a moment to reorient, Han straightened. “Yeah, I can walk. Let’s go.”

Off they went again, Han hot on the heels of both his new companion and his son. As they moved, Han couldn’t take his eyes off his son’s noticeable limp, as well as the alarming drops of crimson he was trailing behind him. “He’s hurt,” Han murmured, trying in vain to squash the fatherly instinct to rush forward and try and heal his injured child however he could. 

“Plasma bolt to the side,” Kenobi told him. “It… it was Chewie. When you died. He shot him.” 

Han drew in a sharp breath, memory coming to mind of Chewie, carefully cradling a newborn Ben in his massive arms like there was no greater treasure in the whole galaxy, looking Han straight in the eye and solemnly telling him that he would die for him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that memory was chased away by a red-hot flash of alarm as something else Kenobi had said registered in Han’s mind. “Wait a minute,” he said. “You said Ben’s following Finn and Rey. Where’s Chewie?”

Kenobi didn’t answer him or even look at him, and now Han was beginning to worry. “Hey, Master Man?” Han barked, snapping his fingers. “I asked you where Chewbacca is.”

Kenobi sighed. “You can call me Ben, Luke does. As for Chewbacca, I’m afraid all I can tell you is that he isn’t dead.”

“I already have a Ben,” Han retorted. “And ‘not dead’ isn’t kriffing helpful. At all.”

“Obi Wan, then,” Ken— Obi Wan said impatiently. “‘Not dead’ is all I have to go off of, as I haven’t sensed him die, and I haven’t seen him since _you_ died. Everyone started shooting at each other, and then An— my, ah, partner, disappeared on me, and I had to help Finn and Rey get out of there, and I’m sorry to say I lost Chewie in the chaos.”

Han didn’t overlook Obi Wan’s slip-up. “Partner?” he accused. “What partner? Who else is here?”

Obi Wan, to his credit, didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, one of the other ghosts that resides here was watching with me” he said breezily. “He was the one to bring you here when you died; he’s resting from the effort now.”

Perfect as Obi Wan’s delivery had been, Han didn’t survive as long as he had without learning how to sense someone hiding something important from him. Before Han could push, however, Obi Wan was moving forward. “Now, as I was saying, I promise you I was going to go search for Chewie as soon as I saw Rey and Finn back to the _Falcon_ safely and made sure that he hadn’t already beat them there. Then… then you… _appeared_ , and I had to stop to carry you, and it’s taken a while to catch up and find them because Finn was purposely taking a roundabout route back to avoid—“

Obi Wan drew up short and Han walked straight into his back. “Detection,” Obi Wan finished on a shaky breath as Han peered around his shoulder.

Ben had stopped too, at the edge of a snowy clearing, and was posed like a snake ready to strike. On the other side, positions defensive, eyes wide with terror and brows set in resigned determination, were Finn and Rey.

Han felt sick. “I couldn’t even buy ‘em time,” he muttered. 

“Don’t,” Obi Wan told him softly. 

Han flinched as the air lit up a blazing scarlet with the ignition of Ben’s blade. He noticed with pride that the blaster Rey held was the stolen one from earlier, the one he had given her was on her belt, and that Ben’s show of aggression only made her tighten her grip on her weapon. He felt another burst of pride to see Finn’s hand holding Luke’s old saber steady in a white-knuckled grasp— Han had recognized it the moment Maz had brought it out of the box back on Takodana, what seemed a lifetime ago now. 

His pride was quickly washed away by despair, though. Han’s gun and Luke’s saber should never be fighting Ben. None of this should be happening.

“We’re not done yet.” Why was Ben’s voice so _flat?_

Rey accused in a trembling voice, he was a monster.

Han shook his head. “No, Rey, no, he’s not, it was my fault. I—“

“It was _not_ ” Obi Wan shot back vehemently, conviction in his voice so strong Han almost missed Ben’s reply.

“It’s just us now. Han Solo can’t save you.”

Han turned to Obi Wan hopefully. “He’s wrong, right? I can still do _something_ , can’t I? I gotta help them, no one needs to get hurt.”

Obi Wan turned to him with sad eyes and Han already knew the answer, but before Obi Wan could say anything, there was movement from the living. 

Gritting her teeth in fury, Rey raised the blaster at Ben. Ben turned to her and raised a hand, and Han knew where this was going. “Ben, please don’t do this,” he begged as Rey struggled with an invisible force, completely paralyzed. “She’s just a kid, she doesn’t— _Ben!_

Han could only watch in horror as with one flick of the wrist, Ben sent Rey’s blaster went flying, and with another flick, he threw her backwards like a ragdoll into the hard trunk of a tree thirty feet away.

Obi Wan, on the other hand, had started moving the second Ben tossed away the blaster, so while Finn and Han were screaming Rey’s name in united fear, Obi Wan was next to her seconds after she hit the icy ground.

“She’s alright,” Obi Wan called to Han as Finn tore over to them. “She’s dazed and bruised, but she’ll be fine.”

Han couldn’t even manage to be properly relieved because Ben was already advancing on Finn, screaming _”Traitor!”_

And Finn, Finn the Big Deal who didn’t want anything to do with the First Order ever again, no matter who got hurt so long as it wasn’t Rey, turned from where he was crouched beside Rey and ignited Luke’s saber in a blaze of righteous blue.

Ben’s eyes widened, zeroing in on the blade in Finn’s hand. He snarled now, that lightsaber was _his_.

Han was incredulous. “It belongs to your _uncle_ , Ben!”

Finn raised the saber in welcome and told Ben to come get it.

“No— don’t open with that stance!” Obi Wan’s scandalized voice sounded next to Han, who turned to see the Jedi Master standing and watching the fight with arms crossed and a hand running through his beard.

Han did not like the look on his face. “Finn doesn’t look that bad to me,” he commented, hoping maybe Obi Wan would agree with him.

“Finn is surviving,” Obi Wan sniffed. Han wanted to be offended on Finn’s behalf, but as he watched the young man get shoved back by Ben once again, he had to admit the guy who worked with lightsabers for a living may have a point. Nevertheless, Finn got back up and clashed sabers with Ben again, and Han noticed something else. “Why is Ben’s saber all… fuzzy? Luke’s isn’t like that.”

He hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but Obi Wan obviously heard him, as he pounced instantly. “Because it is, frankly speaking, a garbage saber.”

Now Han had no choice but to be offended on behalf of his son’s craftsmanship. “Hey! It’s not garbage, I think it looks kinda neat!”

“A youngling could have built it better,” Obi Wan retorted. “Every single aspect of it is inherently ostentatious, unnecessary, or handicapped in some way. Take that ridiculous crossguard for example. It looks flashy enough, but the two tiny plasma beams are much more of a hindrance than a help to the wielder; one is constantly at risk of cutting your own fingers off. The blade itself is extremely unstable; the red color alone is what happens when you torture the crystal, which inherently weakens it—“

Han was struggling desperately to keep up with the stream of babble that was completely out of his wheelhouse. “How do you _torture_ a _rock?_ ”

“— and not only has he weakened it, but he has managed to crack it, which puts himself in a constant state of danger as ruptured kyber crystals have been known to _explode_. And, even if he doesn’t blow himself up, the fracture creates an energy drainage that weakens the blade’s power— hence the flickering of the beam you noticed, at full power it would be a steady, looping stream —and causes the wielder to need to exert more energy to compensate for the loss, putting them at a disadvantage. Plus, I don’t think I have ever, not even once, seen him clean the thing.” As Obi Wan ranted, Han had the appalling realization that ghosts did not need to pause to take a breath.

Obi Wan wasn’t finished yet. “So, in conclusion, though it may look _’neat’_ , your son is using a sloppy, dangerous weapon, and if he had been fighting anyone who had actually been trained in saberplay, especially against a saber like Anakin’s, he would find himself at a serious disadvantage.”

Obi Wan’s mouth then closed abruptly, as if he only just realized he had gone on more than a bit of a tirade, and nodded at Han. “Right.”

Han, smarting more than a bit at Obi Wan comparing anything of _“Anakin’s”_ to his son, was about to stupidly open his mouth and ask why _Luke’s_ saber was so much better then, but Obi Wan, who had somehow managed to go on his entire spiel without taking an eye off the duel going on, froze, holding up his hand for silence. “Later, Han. Oh, Finn, don’t—“

Han, who to his amazed dismay had managed to completely distract himself from the fight, whipped back around just in time to see Ben bring his blade down in a slashing blow across Finn’s back. “No!”

Finn cried out in pain and then crumpled to the ground, lightsaber flying out of his hands and landing in the snow.

Obi Wan let out a string of words Han would expect to hear from a crew of pirates, not a stuffy Jedi, and hurried to stand over in front of Finn’s broken form— Han suspected that there may be more ghosts could do for the living than Obi Wan was letting on. 

Thankfully, Ben didn’t seem interested in finishing the fight, choosing instead to turn towards Luke’s discarded saber and reach for it.

Not caring about a lifeless weapon, Han ignored the saber and started to make his way to Finn’s side to check on him, but Obi Wan was turning to face Ben, wide-eyed. Worried Ben had changed his mind and was going to attack Finn again, Han turned that way too, only to see the lightsaber rise out of the snow and shoot through the air towards Ben. When instead of landing in Ben’s hand, it went straight past him instead, Obi Wan audibly gasped from beside Han, and when Han turned around to follow it, he did too.

Standing on the other edge of the clearing, outstretched hand clutching Luke’s saber, brown eyes blown wide with shock as if she hadn’t thought that would work, was Rey. What caught Han’s attention, however, was the luminous being of golden light and shadow hovering right behind her, blazing hood covering its face, glowing hand outstretched in a motion identical to Rey’s.

The light was only blinding for a moment, as when the figure seemed to sense eyes on it, it turned to face Han and Obi Wan, brilliance dimming into a regular figure in a dark brown robe. Hands reached up to remove the hood, revealing a mess of dark blonde curls, a square jaw, and blue eyes that shone through the dark.

The fact that this guy’s face also struck a familiar note with Han irritated him to no end, more so when the man called out to them and kriff, even the _voice? Really?_

“C’mon, Obi Wan, I leave you alone with them for five seconds, and you’re trying to give my saber to _Ben?_ I told you, I want Rey to have it!”

Quicker than lightning, Han saw Obi Wan shoot up into a standing position to face the other man. “Anakin, your timing is _shit_ ,” Obi Wan yelled.

Han’s entire world screeched to a stop. 

He was all-too familiar with the name “Anakin”.

He also knew that in this thrice-damned galaxy, there was no such thing as a karking coincidence.

So once more, all Han could do was watch as _Darth Fucking Vader_ sent them back a _fucking thumbs up_ and a dopey grin that Han realized in horror was familiar to him because that was _Luke’s_ dopey grin and that was _not_ allowed.

Han’s internal series of heart attacks— did ghosts even have hearts? —had only lasted for a couple of clicks, however, so he was snapped back into reality when Darth Fucking Vader honest-to-stars _whooped_ in excitement as Rey ignited the saber, which under any other circumstances Han would be a mixture of proud and worried for her, but now all he could do was try and scream at her to _Look out! Get away from him!_ but his stupid mouth seemed to have forgotten how to make words again.

“Get him, Rey!” Vader told her.

Rey fixed the startled Ben with a truly impressive death glare and charged at him.

Han could hear Obi Wan kvetching beside him. “Wait, don’t! _Rey,_ that is _not_ — Force’s sake, Anakin, do not encourage them!”

Han could still only watch Vader raise his hands in surrender as Obi Wan marched across the clearing towards him, seemingly apprehensive of the man Han had watched him slice in fucking half like it was nothing on the first Death Star.

“What did you want her to do?” Vader argued. “She can’t run from him.”

“She has absolutely no training with it!” Obi Wan snapped back at him. “The least she can do is exercise caution, not just go running full-tilt into a duel with an experienced swordsman!”

“There is literally no time for caution right now!”

“Oh, no time? Funny, there seemed to be plenty of time for you to go AWOL on me when everything went to hell back there!” 

“That’s not fair, Master!” Oh, so this was where Luke got the whining from. “I didn’t know bringing Han here was going to be such an energy drain!”

 _“What!?”_ Han shrieked, voice finally deciding to come back. Both ghosts suddenly paused in their argument to look at him.

“Oh, hi Han,” Vader’s voice was high-pitched with faux-casualness, paired with an awkward wave.

Obi Wan was more direct. “Han, please don’t freak out, we’re rather busy at the moment.”

“Gragh,” Han said eloquently.

Like a switch was flipped, Obi Wan was rounding on Vader again. “Speaking of Han…”

“Before you say something you might regret, just remember that he’s standing right there.”

“Something _I might regret?_ Anakin, you reached out and pulled a dying soul through space and time using sheer willpower. That is _not_ how the Force is supposed to work!”

Through his shock, Han got the faintest sense of déjà vu at that last bit.

Out of the three of them, Vader seemed the one least concerned about the entire situation. He tried to put a reassuring hand on Obi Wan’s shoulder, landing it on the third try after being irritably swatted away the first two times. “Relax, Master. I cleared it with the Force, they say we can keep him!”

“Keep me where?” Han butt in, not liking the sound of being _kept_ by Darth Fucking Vader at all. 

To Han’s growing fury, Vader just flapped a dismissive hand in his face. “Shh, not like that. I meant you can stay here. It’s fine, Obi Wan.”

Obi Wan didn’t seem assured by that, and Han _definitely_ wasn’t assured, but before either of them could continue the argument, the air around them quivered violently. Han stumbled, catching himself on a strong hand before recoiling in disgust upon realizing it was _Vader’s_ hand. “Don’t touch me!”

To his credit, Vader let go of Han immediately, though he lost any points he might have gained for that by having the audacity to look hurt over it.

Obi Wan was still holding onto Vader’s other arm, staring at the ground beneath them, which was now emitting faint tremors. “That was the oscillator,” he breathed out, looking at Vader hopefully. “That had to be.”

Vader nodded, face splitting into a grin. “One of the pilots definitely hit it. It’s over.”

Despite the shock and turmoil whirling through Han’s brain, he had the briefest moment of calm, the eye in the storm, to be relieved. They did it. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Did… “ he started. “Did, uh, did the charges we set do anything?”

“I didn’t actually see—“ Vader began.

“I wasn’t asking you!” Han spat at him. He then looked pointedly at Obi Wan, who actually was looking at Han with _disapproval?_ What the fuck? He expected Han to be polite? To _Darth Vader?_

“Your explosives went off perfectly,” Obi Wan said eventually. “Chewie detonated them in the chaos after you passed; they definitely crippled the inner oscillator enough to give the pilots a clearer shot.”

Han would take that. His death meant _something_ , at least, even if he couldn’t manage to bring his son home.

His son.

Shit, where were Ben and Rey?

“Shit, where are Ben and Rey?” Han spoke aloud. Obi Wan and Vader froze in unison, which Han found totally creepy, then took off as one, which Han found creepy and _rude_.

These guys were fast too, Han realize, as he had to flat-out sprint to catch up with them. It wasn’t hard to see where they were headed for, bright flashes of ruby and cyan lighting up the wooded night ahead of them.

“How much longer do you think we have before the planet falls apart?” Obi Wan was shouting to Vader as they ran.

“Way to think positive!” Vader shot back. Then, after a pause: “I’d say less than an hour or so.”

“Oh, marvelous,” Obi Wan responded lightly, like this sort of situation was the kind of thing these two had to deal with on the regular.

Han found himself speaking up again. “ _Obi Wan,_ ” he directed specifically. “Is there any way to break up this fight? Everyone needs to get off this planet now.”

Of course, Vader had to add in his own two credits. “Yeah, and speaking of everyone, where’s Chewie?”

Damn it, that was a good addition.

“Yeah,” Han grunted, ire growing at having to agree with Vader on anything.

Obi Wan growled. “Let us establish that I do not know, I left Chewbacca behind, yes I am a horrible person. We can go look for him after—“

He was cut off as they caught up to the saber duel, Rey currently holding the upper hand by simply repeatedly hacking at Ben’s blade with nothing to finesse her way besides brute strength.

“Okay, that should not be working,” Obi Wan pointed out.

Vader shrugged. “Yeah, the form is awful, but she’s making it work.”

“The form is nonexistent, and—“ Obi Wan broke off to wince along with Han and Vader as Ben managed to flip them around and bare Rey backwards towards the edge of a cliff that had definitely not been there before. “And, it won’t last her long,” Obi Wan finished, watching the fight worriedly.

Ben was speaking now, voice raised to carry over the crumbling of the world around them, the cry of the icy wind, and the screeching of clashing plasma. “You need a teacher! I can show you the ways of the Force!”

Vader was suddenly jumping forward. “Rey, do _not_ jump off that cliff. I don’t care what he says, do not do it. You will die.”

Han had no clue what he was talking about, but Obi Wan clearly did, as he was now tensing up. “Anakin, don’t even joke about that.”

“I’m not joking,” Vader told him tersely, staring intently as Rey’s eyes grew dazed and she closed her eyes. Han still had no clue what the fuck was going on, but both of the other ghosts seemed to be more in on this sort of thing, because both instantly bristled. 

“She cannot be going inside his head again.’

“Rey, no! Get out of there!”

Rey’s eyes shot open again and both ghosts fell silent. Even Han was able to sense something was different from the harsh light that was glowing inside the girl’s eyes. Out of nowhere, she pounded back quick as the wind, using single handed swipes and hitting Ren's gnarly, spitting saber with incredible, impossible force. It was so fast now, so furious, that Ben began to fall back— Rey attacked harder.

“Is she falling?” Vader’s voice was quiet, hesitant, scared.

“No,” Obi Wan’s was incredulous. “She’s burning, but she’s getting brighter, getting lighter.”

Ben got up again, but Rey hit his saber hilt with a well-aimed swipe and his blade went flying off, tumbling into the snow. Defenceless, Ben drew in on himself and Rey slashed again, and again.

“Rey, fall back.” Obi Wan’s voice was sharp with worry. “Fall back now.”

A final strike and Rey hit Ben square in the head and chest, and down he went, dark eyes wide with surprise and the presence of fear. Despite it all, Han still found himself crying out for his son, terrified for his life.

Rey stalked around Ben’s prone form, steam rising off his body, and Han felt his head shaking. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. The young desert girl with the lonely eyes, who was looking for a family. She wouldn’t do this. Her eyes illuminated in the sky-blue of the blade she wielded shone with an eerie light, seeking vengeance.

Han heard a deep breath being drawn from beside him and saw Vader stepping forward. Panicking, Han reached out in an aborted movement. “What are you doing? What are you telling her? Leave him alone, he’s unarmed!”

Obi Wan caught his hand, murmuring, “Wait.” Han didn’t even have the strength to tear it away. 

Darth Vader stepped between Han’s son and Rey and held out his hand. Han waited for him to tell her to finish the job.

“Rey,” Vader commanded. _”Stop.”_

At Vader’s words, there was a pulsing around them and the world split.

With a deep, primal groan seeming to come from the planet itself, a gigantic divide halved the ground between Rey and Ben, Vader standing at the center of it, carrying Ben further and further away from Rey. With an undignified yelp, Han’s hands shot out to cling to Obi Wan upon the realization that the three spirits were hovering above the newly-created chasm that led to the center of the planet.

Obi Wan barely noticed him, busy glaring at a Vader who now held a contrite look on his face that did _not_ match the expression most likely meant to be worn by someone who had just cleaved the earth in two.

“That was an accident,” Vader began, comically wide eyes pleading.

Obi Wan raised a brow at him in return. “That’s an understatement.”

Rather than trying to further defend himself, Vader pointed past them. “Look, there goes Rey.”

Both Obi Wan and Han turned to see the now distant figure in white turning and racing back into the forest, path illuminated in front of her by the cerulean shine of the saber she held.

“She’s going back for Finn,” Obi Wan said, voice soft.

“Can we go make sure he’s okay?” Vader asked, still in that soft, _young_ voice that sounded too much like Luke’s for Han’s comfort.

Han resolutely ignored that observation. He also ignored the broken form of his son lying in the snow on the opposite side of the newly-formed chasm. As much as his heart hurt for Ben, he had made himself a promise on that old rathtar freighter, when he heard about two First Order fugitives: those two kids needed help, and someone had to look out for them. If it turned out that death wasn’t as big a deterrent to Han as he thought, well then, he still had a job to do. 

“I’m going to check on Finn,” Han declared, forcing himself to lose the death grip on Obi Wan despite the fact that he was literally standing over oblivion. He started to set off purposefully in the direction that Rey had gone, screaming internally at the lack of solid ground under his feet, before stopping upon realization that he had no kriffing clue where they had left Finn in the first place. “Uh. You can come along, if you want,” Han offered. 

To Obi Wan, of course. 

Vader could jump down the giant new hole in the ground he made.

Unfortunately, Vader was the one who took the lead in taking them back through the forest; somehow both he and Obi Wan had some sort of sixth ghostly sense they could use to find things that Han hadn’t developed yet.

Or it could just be a Jedi thing and Han was shit out of luck.

A Jedi/Darth Fucking Vader thing, anyway.

Vader cocked his head to the side like a pack animal on the scent. “Over here,” he announced, and _how did he know that?_

Obi Wan was speeding up too, though, and sure enough when they literally ran through a copse of pine trees (and Han scurried around them like the coward who didn’t walk through solid objects he was), there was Rey, huddled in the middle of the snowy clearing, shivering bitterly in the cold and crying wordlessly over Finn’s motionless body. 

“Oh no,” Han breathed, dread encompassing any annoyance at saying the same thing as Vader at the same time. Obi Wan said nothing, moving forward to kneel beside Rey and run a hand over Finn, just as he had done for Rey earlier. 

No one spoke for a couple of long, agonizing, drawn-out heartbeats, silence only punctured by the shuddering rumbles of the dying planet and Rey’s shuddering gasps.

Then Obi Wan raised his head and gave Vader a look that must have said it all, because Vader breathed an audible sigh of relief. “He’ll make it.” 

“Provided they get off this bloody rock, then yes he should,” Obi Wan reported. “It’s a nasty gash along the spine, and he’ll definitely be out for a while, but it shouldn’t be deadly as long as he gets treatment soon enough.”

“He’ll get it,” Han said, suddenly hearing something he could recognize from halfway across the galaxy. He knew those engines better than he knew his own heartbeat. “I hear the _Falcon_ ”

Both of the other ghosts looked at him in surprise and Han again didn’t know whether to feel proud of himself or offended that they were so surprised. He didn’t have time to figure it out, as bright white lights up ahead signaled a ship cruising low over the trees, looking for something.

Vader was up like a shot, jumping up and down and waving. “That’s it! That’s the _Falcon_!”

“I told you that,” Han said testily. 

Vader ignored him, laughing aloud. “Hey Master, look! We found Chewie!”

“Very funny,” Obi Wan told him drily, but he wasn’t making any efforts to hide the smile on his face.

“You making all that noise isn’t going to help, Wookiees can’t see dead people—” Han started to say, only to bite his tongue as the ship’s searchlights seemed to veer almost directly onto them the second Vader started making a commotion.

No, that was impossible, Han told himself as the _Falcon_ started to set down. They just got lucky. The kids definitely needed a bit of luck by now.

As the ramp lowered and Chewie emerged, Han found he could only look at his oldest friend’s face for so long. Not many non-Wookiees knew how to read Wookiee facial expressions; Han could say he was one of those few, and the look of absolute devastation he could see on Chewie’s face was taking his heart and stomping it into little tiny pieces.

The big softie was obviously trying to keep it together for Rey, though, Han observed as Chewie cautiously approached her as one would a startled tooka, slowly and clearly leaning down to lift Finn into his arms while Rey watched, a sharp-eyed jaig examining every movement he made, one hand still clutching the lightsaber jolt as to defend Finn from his own wounds.

As the pair walked Finn back up the ramp of the _Falcon_ , Han made to follow, pure instinct to board his ship he had only just found again and take the pilot’s chair. A stray thought stopped him, a last look at Rey’s lightsaber now clipped to her belt alongside Han’s blaster, and he again thought of Ben.

He stopped at the foot of the ramp. “I’m going to stay with my son,” he heard himself say. “You guys can go on ahead with Chewie and the others if you want.” 

“We were thinking the same thing,” Obi Wan assured him and Han bit back a curse, not exactly wanting them to stay, but at the same time relieved he didn’t have to be by himself. 

Vader thankfully said nothing, so Han nodded. “Okay.”

The trio of spirits stood in silence as the ramp raised, the thrusters lit up the familiar white-blue, and the _Millennium Falcon_ made its way into the night sky. Han watched as it flew away without him, and for the first time since he got stabbed by his own son, Han felt dead. 

The ground groaned again, and Han shuffled away from a crack forming by his foot, shrinking away as he brushed elbows with Vader. 

He thought the move had been subtle enough, but apparently not as Obi Wan was looking straight at him. 

“Alright,” Obi Wan announced, clapping his hands together. “No use avoiding the wampa in the room. Han, this is Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father. He was the one who caught your soul and brought you here.”

Darth Vader said nothing, simply shot Obi Wan a meaningful look, then stood facing Han and gave him a nod of greeting. 

“Okay,” Han said. 

He took two steps forward and drove his fist into the other man’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so if y’all don’t think Han’s reaction is 100% justified and deserved, idk what to tell you, did you watch the OT?
> 
> Ngl, I’ve been waiting to write Obi Wan going off on Kylo’s lightsaber this entire fic. I mean, Obi Wan epically drags it in the Battlefront game (I think it was Battlefront, anyway) and then Ewan McGregor said it was weird in some interview. So you hear that, Kyle? Obi Wan says YA BASIC.
> 
> Aaaaa ik this was a long chapter again, but I think there’s only one (maybe two) more after this one before we’re officially done with this fic, my dudes!


	19. This Is Your Get Along Afterlife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can say is that mental health and depression SUCK. I literally could not write or do anything for a month and I am so sorry, but I have now officially finished this story. I had to split the final chapter into two because it got too long, so the 20th is gonna come out in two days to give this one a breather. Bone apple tea.

Obi Wan didn’t need the Force to see that punch coming a parsec away because frankly, as much as Obi Wan loved him, Anakin did kind of deserve it.

Anakin had to have known that himself, but despite his partner’s _Let me handle this_ look, Obi Wan had not expected him to simply stand still and take Han decking him right in the jaw without as much as a flinch. Obi Wan winced in sympathy as Anakin’s head snapped around with the force of the impact, blow sending him staggering backwards a couple paces. Han didn’t seem satisfied, however, squaring his shoulders and making to come at Anakin again, and damn it, Obi Wan did not need a full-out brawl on his hands right now.

Quick as a flash, Obi Wan shot forward and caught Han’s arms, pulling him back against him and restraining him in place. “Not the time, Han.”

Han didn’t seem to agree, immediately struggling and biting like a trapped snapperfish. “Let go of me!” he spat.

Anakin finally straightened back up, hand cradling an already-swelling jaw. He offered Han what was likely meant to be a friendly smile, but with the blood staining his mouth and trickling through his teeth it came across as more of an unhinged sneer. “Hey, that’s a solid right hook you’ve got there!”

If Obi Wan wasn’t currently holding Han, he would have facepalmed.

”What,” Han said.

“Your punch! It was—“ Anakin broke off with a hacking noise and briefly put a hand to his lips, eyebrows shooting upwards as he examined his palm. He then thrust it out in excitement for Han to see, revealing a bloody puddle of what looked like pebbles. “ _Really_ good, look, you even knocked some teeth out! I like the way you—”

“Don’t fucking _compliment_ my punch!” Han squawked.

Anakin blinked. “Sorry, does it make you uncomfortable?” Flecks of bloody spittle went flying as he spoke.

Han made a garbled snarling-screeching sound likely identifiable to some obscure animal species.

“For stars’ sake, Anakin, stop antagonizing him!”

“I’m just trying to be nice!”

_”Nice?!”_

It was then the ground decided to give a violent shudder beneath them, and a line of trees came crashing down in a powdery white plume, dragging Obi Wan’s thoughts back to the more pressing matter at hand. “Whatever it is, gentlemen, I’ll ask that you kindly save it for when the planet isn’t falling apart.”

Anakin was instantly on task, eyes widening with alarm. “Ben!”

Han made another noise in Obi Wan’s arms at the name.

“Let’s go see him then, shall we?” Obi Wan wrestled a resistant Han a couple paces away from Anakin. Deciding that kark it, Han _probably_ wouldn’t fall apart or anything if they took the quicker route, Obi Wan stopped and focused on the face of the troubled man he had just seen Rey slash with Anakin’s lightsaber, feeling the surge of the Force swirl around them as it whisked them away.

“Nope,” Han declared the second they rematerialized, slithering through Obi Wan’s loosened arms like a wet noodle and flopping to the ground, face pale. “I don’t know what just happened, don’t really care, but my answer is no. Didn’t like that at all.”

 _Focus on the positives; if he’s well enough to complain, it means you didn’t lose any pieces of him on the way here,_ Obi Wan told himself, trying his best to ignore the ranting at his feet and scan the surrounding fractured sections of earth for signs of Kylo Ren. 

A familiar sharp whistle sounded from behind Obi Wan, and he turned to meet Anakin’s wave as he crouched over the eerily still form of his grandson.

Han bristled upon seeing Anakin there, staggering to his feet and wobbling cautiously across another chasm of broken ground to get to the island where Kylo lay. As Obi Wan followed him, he could hear Han bellowing at Anakin over the roar of crumbling earth. “Hey, back off!” 

Obi Wan sighed.

Anakin looked up and Obi Wan noticed that despite that ghosts could heal any wound sustained to their chosen form in a matter of minutes, Anakin had chosen to continue to let his mouth bleed.

“I don’t think he’s going to die as long as he finds a way off this planet,” Anakin told Obi Wan and Han as they approached. “That being said, _someone_ needs to get him the hells off this planet because it looks like he’s taken too many hits to move himself.”

“What hits?” Han demanded, practically shoving Anakin out of the way to take his spot next to Kylo’s front. He swore viciously when his attempt to grab his son’s shoulder and turn him over only resulted in his hand swiping right through. “I— my hand, it won’t—”

Anakin raised his hand. “Hang on, I can just…” He curled his finger and slowly, slowly Kylo’s body began to rotate from facedown to on his back. 

The effort on Anakin’s face and the subtle dimming of his form’s light did not pass Obi Wan by. “Anakin,” he scolded, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder and reaching out to nudge Kylo the rest of the way himself. “Don’t exert yourself like this; you’re already running on low energy from obtaining Han, not to mention that stunt you pulled splitting the earth back there.”

“I told you, that wasn’t—“ Anakin cut himself off at the sound of Han’s gasp, knowing all too well Han’s pinched look at the sight his son made: blood trailing sluggishly out of a blaster burn in his side as well as another gash on his shoulder, trickle ebbing and flowing with the ragged rise and fall of his chest. Ben’s eyes stared half-consciously off into the distance, one only partially cracked and sticky from the blood coming off the large, searing slash directly across his face.

“I should have stayed here with him,” Han murmured. “Let you two go make sure the kids were alright. I should never have left him, especially when he needed me. They all needed me.”

“Han,” Obi Wan began.

“No,” Han shook his head. “If I had managed to stay alive, I could have figured out how to keep him from hurting Finn like that, going after Rey… she damn near had to kill him because he attacked her over a kriffing glowstick. Now look at him. This is my fault.”

“Actually,” Anakin piped up cautiously. “That ’glowstick’ has more accountability than you, in a way. The saber, it,” he hesitated, licking his split lip. “It doesn’t like it when you attack family.”

“It doesn’t like it?” Han echoed. “How does a laser sword have feelings?”

“The crystal…” Obi Wan and Anakin chorused, trailing off in unison at the complications of explaining how kyber crystals worked. Obi Wan turned to Anakin. “What are you saying?” he asked urgently.

Anakin shrugged, staring at his boots. “I just mean that I was there each time someone who tried to own it lost it— hells, I was one of the someones. Both times, the blade failed us once we tried to harm someone our soul was connected to. Both times we were permanently injured as a reminder of how we lost it.”

Obi Wan winced slightly, being the one who was responsible for some of the injury Anakin was referencing. Han appeared to be thinking along the same line line, though his mind was obviously on a different culprit. “Hang on. Correct me if I’m remembering this wrong, but didn’t Luke lose that thing when _you_ pushed him into a bottomless pit and cut his fucking hand off?”

“I never pushed him, he jumped,” Anakin corrected. “I’ll admit that wasn’t my best moment—“

“Gee, you think?”

“—But,” Anakin continued, “it goes with my theory of the fight leaving its mark.” 

Obi Wan made an uncomfortable noise.

Anakin continued. “When I helped Rey summon the saber to her, I barely had to do anything, it was already practically screaming that it didn’t want to go to Ben. No wonder it bit him when he tried to take it from her.”

“You got a mark when you lost the glowstick too?” Han couldn’t help but ask, refusing to admit to curiosity; he just couldn’t look at his injured son anymore.

Anakin gave a dry laugh. “Oh yeah, big time. That’s how I ended up in the damn suit and mask.” Obi Wan made another sound of discomfort, and Anakin froze. “Whoops, sorry.” 

Han was still glaring at him, so he looked around for a subject change, only for the Force to choose this moment to prod him insistently in the head. He paused, extending his senses and then shot straight up, ear cocked to the sky. “Do you feel that?”

“I’m actually feeling kinda hungry, thanks for asking,” Han hissed, only to be waved silent by Obi Wan, whose head had also jerked upwards. Mullishly, Han looked up too, already a billion percent done with the weirdness of everything that seemed to only be weird to him.

“Over there,” Anakin pointed, inexplicably drawn towards a particular patch of night that was gradually getting brighter and _yes_ , he knew it.

Out of the clouds came the shadowy birdlike shape of a command shuttle, neon lights sweeping the crumbling world below. From the ground, Ben stirred ever so slightly as the harsh beam landed on him, quiet moan escaping him.

In a heartbeat, Han was crouching by his side, spectral fingers running over his hair. “I know,” he spoke to the other two ghosts watching him while never taking his eyes off his son. “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. I need to see that he’s okay.”

The shuttle kicked up large billows of ice as it settled to a hover a couple meters over the body sprawled in the snow, pilot obviously not wanting to land on the earth that was crumbling around them at a rapid pace. The hatch in the back of the ship opened and a figure swathed in black stepped lightly off it, slowly levering themself down to Kylo’s level by a cable attached to their waist.

The strobe lights from the shuttle caught the face of the other figure, and Obi Wan couldn’t help himself. “Oh. It’s him.”

Han tensed immediately at the looks on Anakin’s and Obi Wan’s faces as General Hux’s feet touched the ground of the little island Ben was lying on, taking a few tentative steps towards his prone figure. “What’s wrong with him?” Han demanded, crouching protectively over Ben.

Hux stopped a few paces away from Kylo, head tilted appraisingly. His eyes in the reflected light were cold chips of flint. Han gave an outraged snarl as Hux’s hand made its way to his pocket, and in a flash it was extending a blaster pistol aimed directly at Ben’s head.

“That.” Anakin remarked. “Hux tends to do stuff like that.”

“He wouldn’t…” Obi Wan told them despite himself, knowing that Hux very much would. Obi Wan was inclined to disagree with the notion if only because being put down like an injured pet by a traitorous coworker was hardly dramatic enough a death for someone of Kylo’s family. The Force would never allow it.

Anakin, on the other hand, was trying to come to terms with the fact that he was halfway hoping Hux would pull the trigger.

 _You saved Han,_ a soft voice in Anakin’s head reminded him. _You could pull Ben through the same way. In death, he could finally listen to you, you could_ make _him listen. Snoke wouldn’t be able to reach him ever again here…_

Anakin thought of himself, how he had finally summoned up his remaining courage and strength and reached for that tiny tendril of Light for the first time in over twenty years, how that choice had taken everything he had left to make.

_Is death the key to salvation?_

The quiet, slimy little voice was soothing and reasonable, ever so logical and ever so innocent, and ever so reminiscent of someone else who once suggested killing someone to save Anakin’s loved one.

Upon making _that_ pleasant connection, Anakin recoiled back from his line of thought, disgusted with himself for even starting to go down that path.

“Wait, he’s moving.” Han’s voice jolted Anakin out of his dark musings, drawing the attention back to the injured man in the snow. 

Kylo Ren groaned softly, rolling from his side onto his back, dazed eyes shifting over to where Hux hastily holstered his blaster, the slight fumbling of his fingers unnoticeable to the untrained eye.

“Spineless tapeworm,” Han remarked as Hux made his way to Kylo’s side, revealing another tether in his hands to attach to him.

Obi Wan gave him a side-eye. “Upset he didn’t kill your son?”

“Offended he would try,” Han said, glaring at the man now hooking Ben to his side and waving up at the transport hovering overhead. “I know a rat when I see one; that guy didn’t deserve to kill Ben.”

Anakin snorted, eyes trailing the two mens’ slow ascent up the cable into the belly of the shuttle. “Well said.”

“Thank… hmm.” Han trailed off with a scowl upon realizing Vader had dared speak to him again. 

The thrusters of the shuttle rose from a whine into a roar as they powered back up, and the three ghosts stood hovering over the crumbling world as they watched the bright lights grow dimmer and dimmer as the ship soared into the upper atmosphere. Han couldn’t help but notice they were flying off in the opposite direction of the _Falcon_.

_Ben’s even further away from home now…_

And Han couldn’t follow him.

Because Han was dead.

Because…

“Right,” Han said faintly. “My son killed me today. I’m just going to—“

Han felt his legs buckle beneath him, only the strangest urge to laugh surfacing when instead of moving downwards with gravity, Han found himself floating awkwardly above the ground like he was sitting in an invisible recliner. Might as well happen, he figured.

He saw Vader coming towards him out of the corner of his eye, and instinct took over. Hand slipping to his hip, Han drew a blaster right at the other man’s head, only realizing after he pointed that he didn’t actually _have_ a blaster, and he was currently holding up Darth Vader with nothing more than a finger gun.

Anakin had raised his hands and stopped nonetheless, seeing the feral glint in Han’s eyes. “Okay, okay. I’ll stay here.” 

“Focus on the ground, Han,” Obi Wan told him, hoping to make him more comfortable and deescalate the situation. “Imagine the uneven dirt under your boots, the pressure on your muscles of standing upright.”

Han gave him a shaky nod, fingers still pointed stubbornly at Anakin as he haltingly shifted his legs downward until he was the closest to touching ground as a ghost could get. 

“Better?” Obi Wan asked him gently, inching slightly closer to the frazzled man.

The side of Han’s mouth twitched in what might have been a smile, wide eyes flicking over briefly to Obi Wan. “Yeah, thanks.” He turned around, re-examining his surroundings and looking completely miserable. 

Han was tired. He was so tired, which wasn’t karking fair, he was dead, dead people shouldn’t get tired, but he was tired and he was dead and it was his own fault because he couldn’t get his son to chose him over...

Han’s gaze fell on Vader, whose young face so eerily similar to Luke’s was still bleeding. 

_Over you..._

Suddenly, Han wasn’t tired. 

Burning inside, he launched himself at the ghost with a half-crazed yell.

“Oh, for the love of—“ The Force around Han had been too chaotic for Obi Wan to sense his intentions this time, causing him to have to leap forward himself and hook both arms around Han’s waist, pulling him upwards and backwards away from Anakin.

Anakin, the dumbass, had stood still and barely flinched as Han came at his face. Blood was trickling down his jaw, but it was squared in determination, chin held high and eyes solemn as they stared directly into Han’s. Ready to take whatever was given to him.

Han’s legs kicked out in the air as Obi Wan backed them away. “Damn it, put me down!”

“Han.” Obi Wan’s scolding Master’s tone did nothing as he was forced to jerk his head back to avoid a flailing elbow to the nose, tightening his grip around Han’s middle.

“What is your problem?” Han spat, trying to claw his way out of Obi Wan’s durasteel hold on him to no avail. “Why won’t you let me hit him? That bastard _killed you,_ remember? Why do you want to be anywhere near him?”

“Because that murderous bastard is my best friend,” Obi Wan told him matter-of-factly. “Did Luke not explain—“

Han gave a humorless laugh. “ _Luke._ Luke spent his entire life trying to make something out of the mess your lot left him. Look where it got him. Look where it got all of us.”

_Okay, ouch..._

“If—“ Obi Wan tried to say, but Han wasn’t finished yet.

“Look where it got _Ben_.” Han’s voice cracked on the last word as he stared daggers directly at Anakin now. “I lost my son because of you. Hanging around him, leading him right to Snoke—“

“No.” For the first time, Anakin spoke up, taking a step forward. “Hate me for everything else, Han, you’ve got a long list to pick from, but I am going to tell you exactly what I told Leia the night Luke’s temple burned. I kept my promise. I never spoke to your son, never appeared to him, never let him know I existed. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect Ben from Snoke, you don’t even know, but the only contact I have ever, ever had with that evil, shriveled, parasitic turd is the multiple times I’ve tried and failed to make his rotted head blow up.”

“You’re sorry.” Han’s voice was flat. “You’re going to stand right here in front of me, Darth Vader, and you’re going to tell me that you’re sorry about Ben.” 

Anakin’s voice was open and even. “I am.”

Han couldn’t look at him. He physically couldn’t. He could not look at the figure even younger than Ben in front of him as it stared at him with Luke’s eyes and claimed to be the monster nightmares were made of, and that he was _sorry_ Han’s son fell apart.

Like he cared.

Han felt that maybe Obi Wan’s arms around him had loosened slightly and made a quick bodily jerking movement that would have broken anyone else’s hold. Obi Wan’s grip just tightened. 

_Dammit._

“And what about literally everything else you did?” Han heard himself asking. “Are you going to apologize for all of that too?”

Vader cocked his head, determined expression morphing into almost a pained grimace which Han felt was very much not warranted for the guy on the trigger end of the torture droid. “I know it would be practically worthless to you,” Vader told him. “But I’d do it and mean it if you wanted.”

Han broke into a manic grin. “Well, if the man is offering! Since we were just talking about it, let’s start with how you chopped your own son’s hand off, that was pretty shitty, huh? In fact, we can run with that; we‘ll just stretch it to all the times you tried to hunt down and torture your own kid and how you tried to hand him over to your fucked up boss who was an actual demon. Ladies and gentlefolk, and that’s just the kid he knew about! I wonder what hurt his other kid more, the physical torture or literally blowing her entire planet and everyone on it up! I can say that the physical torture’s no piece of cake, that happened to me right before this guy turned me into a living statue and sold me to a damn Hutt _slaver—_ ”

Obi Wan set Han down on the ground, put one of his hands on the back of the man’s neck, and squeezed.

Han fainted dead away, scowl still on his face.

“And that’s enough for today,” Obi Wan told his unconscious body.

“I deserved all of that,” Anakin rasped. Obi Wan looked up to meet his friend’s hollow, gutted eyes. He seemed even more opaque than normal for ghosts, and his figure was flickering in and out violently. “Han deserved it even more,” Anakin continued, eyeing the collapsed body and then Obi Wan with faint disapproval.

Obi Wan shrugged lightly. “Frankly, I don’t care if you did deserve it. I didn’t feel like listening to it, and I’m in a rather selfish mood.”

“He only said the truth,” Anakin said quietly.

“And what good is the truth here?” Obi Wan argued. “You’ve been punished for your actions time and time over, and if there’s one thing we both have learned by now, it’s that his anger will not bring him peace.”

Anakin raised a disbelieving brow. “What, so you want Han to become best friends with his favorite Sith Lord?”

Obi Wan sighed. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I’m not saying you two should be friends, I wouldn’t ask that much of Han, but the fact is that if he is to remain here with us for however long, he will have to learn to at least coexist with you because there is literally no other option.”

Anakin’s eyes narrowed. “‘If he stays’. It sounds to me like you’re mad at him for being here in the first place. You shouldn’t be, it‘s my fault.”

“I know it’s your fault! And I’m not upset _at_ Han for being here, I’m upset _for_ Han. Do you realize how unfair all of this is to him?” 

“All I wanted was for him to be able to stay with his family!” Anakin protested.

“I understand that,” Obi Wan said, reaching out and brushing a tender hand over Anakin’s injured jaw, instantly healing the bleeding and missing teeth. “But Anakin, you must _think_ about these things. Han doesn’t know the first thing about the inner workings of the Force or really anything related to it at all, and now he’s been stuck here alone for eternity with no idea how to take care of himself.” 

“Yeah, but—“

“You said you wanted him to be with his family, but Luke, Leia, and Ben are all ignoring us. He’ll be forced to watch them with no way to help or speak to them, and you know that can be as much of a curse as it is a gift. And to top it off, the only reason he is here in the first place is on the whim of a man he has good reason to despise, and whom he now is forced to rely on if he wishes to so much as move. How do you think he must be feeling right now?”

Anakin had grown paler and paler the longer Obi Wan had been talking and now Obi Wan again extended a hand, this time placed on Anakin’s shoulder. “I know you were trying to help, but maybe you could admit you acted just a bit rashly?”

Anakin pulled himself out of the self-flagellating funk he was starting to sink into at that. 

_The flash that had lit him up like an electric charge had made it nearly impossible to gather any kind of thoughts together, but dimly Anakin was aware of floating._

_He also had the feeling he was carrying something and that that something was Han Solo, so he figured he probably shouldn’t drop him since he had gone to all the trouble of grabbing him in the first place._

_A dazzle of rainbow light._

_Anakin jerked backwards from it before settling as a familiar presence wrapped around him like a heavy blanket. Upon recognition, he recoiled even more violently, clutching the thing that was Han protectively. “Oh. Hi.”_

_**And what do you have there?** _

_Was that amusement?_

_“This is Han. I found him and I’m keeping him and you can’t stop me.” Anakin tried to kick them, but his foot didn’t seem to be cooperating and he was very dizzy and didn’t know exactly where he should be aiming._

_**Anakin—** _

_“Sorry, I do what I want and I can’t hear you. Later, sleemo.” Anakin took all his strongest feelings of Not Wanting To Be There and used them to yank Han and himself out of the void and away from any pesky conversation._

Back in the present, Anakin felt his face heat. “Okay, maybe I should have given the whole situation a bit more thought, but there wasn’t _time,_ he was dying and—“

“I get it, Anakin,” Obi Wan assured him. “Just try and remember for next time, yes?”

The ghost of a grin flirted across Anakin’s face. “Next time, huh? Who else do you want to bring over? I’m warning you now, I’ve got a list of definite vetoes, so if it’s anyone—“

“Let’s... let’s see how Han works out first, alright?” Obi Wan suggested quickly. 

“Right.”

The pair of them looked down at where Han was sleeping quietly at their feet, hovering over another bottomless chasm in the dying planet that seemed to be glowing faintly, the orange shine steadily growing brighter and brighter.

“Wait a minute,” Anakin said. “Isn’t the planet,”

“Self-destructing? Yes,” Obi Wan finished, eyeing their surroundings that were nearly all completely sunken into the earth, or currently sinking like a knife in butter. “I know we’re dead, but I’d still rather not be caught up in another planetary explosion.”

“I feel that,” Anakin agreed, leaning down to pick up Han. “Time to go?”

“Time to go, but ah,” Obi Wan reached out and halted Anakin. “Just in case he wakes up, he’d probably take it better if it was me carrying him, no offense.”

Anakin frowned. “Yeah, you’re right.” He stepped back as Obi Wan leaned over and hefted Han onto his shoulders. “Should we meet back on Ahch-To? All we can do back at the Resistance base is feel useless while they try to fix Finn up or watch Chewie and Leia be sad about Han, and that’s a little too depressing for me to deal with at the moment.”

Obi Wan pursed his lips. “That’s a good idea. But _you_ are explaining the Han situation to Yoda and Qui Gon. You made the mess.”

Anakin made a face at him. “That’s fine, I’m not scared. And who knows, maybe Han showing up will finally be enough to get Luke to talk to us!”

“That would be nice,” Obi Wan said softly. 

A massive _crack!_ sounded beneath them. Both ghosts looked down to see the flaming golden heat rushing towards them, the horizon around them suddenly growing very bright.

“That sounds like our cue,” Obi Wan remarked. “See you there.” He gave Anakin a wiggle-fingered wave and turned on his heel, disappearing into thin air.

Anakin had never been so grateful for a momentary hesitation due to a strange tugging sensation along his spine when Han failed to vanish alongside Obi Wan. 

Instead, he hovered in the air for a heartbeat, then started to plummet towards the raging inferno racing towards them.

Anakin shot forward, snagging Han’s ankle with a panicked yelp. Seeing Han’s head dangling above the molten heat spurred Anakin’s gut instincts into motion, spiriting them both away with Anakin barely even needing to think about it.

He still wasn’t a huge fan of fire.

Obi Wan had known he had lost Han the second he left, feeling the weight get yanked off his back. As he arrived on Ahch To, Obi Wan spun in a complete circle like an idiot as if Han would simply appear at his feet.

Anakin’s presence shimmering into existence behind him made Obi Wan turn to see his friend standing there with a one-handed hold on Han Solo’s ankle, looking much like a fisherman posing with a very strange fish.

Anakin was fixing him with an extremely unimpressed Look. “You dropped something.”

Obi Wan’s face heated slightly. “Now hang on—“

“You know between losing Han and losing Chewie earlier—“ Anakin continued, and though he was teasing, Obi Wan still prickled.

“For your information,” Obi Wan said testily, “I was physically prevented from bringing Han with me. Something in the Force pulled him back when I tried to leave with him.”

Anakin’s brow furrowed, lifting Han’s leg up a little higher and examining him. “That’s odd, you already transported him over to Ben earlier...” Anakin drew up, snapping his fingers. “Wait. I had this weird tugging feeling when you tried to take Han away, maybe I might have accidentally screwed you up somehow?”

Obi Wan stroked his beard, looking pensively at them both. “Hmm.” He stepped over to Anakin, holding his hand out for Han. “May I?”

Obi Wan took Han’s ankle from Anakin, turned, and successfully vanished along with Han. A few seconds later they were both back.

“It worked—“ Anakin started to say, but Obi Wan cut him off.

“I took Han to the cave at the heart of the island and back, note that it was a success. Now I’m going to try another planet.”

Anakin rolled his eyes, recognizing his Master’s experimental tone. “If you must.”

Obi Wan smiled pleasantly at him. “For that comment, I’m taking him to Jakku.”

“Oh, _ew—_ ”

Obi Wan was already disappearing. Again, Anakin felt an insistent tug. Again, Han stayed in place, this time flopping to the ground face-first.

Anakin winced in sympathy, reminding himself that at least Han wasn’t sinking through the island this time.

Obi Wan popped back in. “So it happened again. Did you feel anything?”

Anakin nodded. “Yeah. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” Obi Wan mused, “ that there seems to be some sort of tether between Han and yourself, probably since you were the one to save him. He can move away from you, but he can never leave the planet.”

Anakin snorted. “Oh, he’ll be thrilled to hear that. Eternally tied to Darth Vader, just what he’s always wanted.”

As if sensing Anakin’s words, Han stirred on the ground with a groan. 

The ghosts shared another look.

“So are you going to tell him or should I?” Anakin asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to keep this story funny, but I found that I really could not avoid the angst this chapter because there really is no way to laugh off Anakin and Han’s history. I promise their issues won’t drag down the tone of this series as a whole, but there’s gonna be some prickly moments.  
> Thanks again to anyone who’s still reading; if you tossed me a comment this way that would be awesomesauce!


	20. Welcome to our twisted family, We're All Mad Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so the reason this took so long is that I decided I didn't like how the last chapter went, so I added some additional stuff and it got so big I had to make aNOTHER chapter, and me moving back to school got in the way of editing, so now the story is OFFICIALLY FINISHED and the last chapter will be up tomorrow or may life curse me to constantly forget my umbrella when it's raining.

As Han came to, he again heard muffled voices above him.  Remembering the _last time_ he had heard muffled voices, he quickly squeezed his eyes shut tighter, praying to the Force or whoever was there that that whole last bit with the dying and the meeting-your-murderous-technical-father-in-law bit was just one big dream.  

Unfortunately, as his hearing came back into focus, Han could now correctly identify the voice saying “How about you go find the other Masters?  I’m sure they’ll be wanting to meet our new… guest. I’ll stay and keep him company.”

Any remaining hope he had that this wasn’t real vanished when the other voice replied somewhat hesitantly.  “Should I try and bring Luke too?”

Despite his hatred for the second voice, the mention of Luke’s name made Han crack an eyelid.  He squinted near immediately at the bright sunlight he was met with, vision adjusting to see the two glowing figures of the ghosts he had met on Starkiller standing over him.  Not-So-Old Man Kenobi was smiling sadly at Suitless Darth Vader. “You can try,” Obi Wan said. 

Vader made an irritated face, screwing it up in a way Han refused to call familiar, offering Obi Wan a last wave before vanishing in a swirl of light.  Obi Wan stared at the empty space in what seemed like fondness for a brief moment before he spoke aloud. “You can stop pretending to sleep now, Han. He’s gone.”

Han jumped, as the man wasn’t even looking at him.  He hurriedly scrambled to his feet— _why was he always on the damn ground around these guys?_ brushing imaginary dust off his knees and meeting the ghostly Jedi with a straightened back and arms crossed defensively.  “Wasn’t pretending anything. I was just resting my eyes for a bit.”

Obi Wan’s silvery gaze finally met Han’s own, and he resolved not to shrink from it.  “If you say so,” Obi Wan told him, and Han wasn’t sure whether it was meant to be condescending or not.  He decided to be offended just in case. Han squared his shoulders and jutted out his chin, forcing himself to lean into Obi Wan’s space.  “So—“

“I’m guessing you’d like that explanation now?”  Obi Wan cut him off smoothly, not appearing the slightest bit affected by Han’s weak show of intimidation.  Han deflated slightly at this before puffing right back up again because _yeah he’d like a damn explanation please and karking thank you_.  Han’s memories from earlier played back in his head like an old holo on fast-forward, waking up to the strange man in the snowy woods, learning he was dead, seeing Ben, seeing him fight Rey and Finn, seeing him _lose_ and seeing him and Finn hurt, _Darth Vader_ , talking to Darth Vader, watching how kriffing weird he was, punching him in the face, trying to do it again and then blacking out—

Han’s mind froze on the last bit, reading Vader the damn riot act and feeling a strong pressure on his neck before everything went dark.  “Wait a second. That was you.” He swung an accusing finger at Obi Wan. “You knocked me out!”

Obi Wan was still giving him that infuriatingly calm smile.  “I did.”

 _Crazy old—_ Han lunged at him, fully intending to go two for two on punching today, only for Obi Wan’s face to vanish before his fist could connect.  Han jerked straight up, even madder now, only to whirl around at the sound of a throat clearing behind him. Obi Wan was now standing a good couple meters away up the hill and fixing him with a raised eyebrow of disapproval.  “Want to try that again?”

Han growled and charged.  

Obi Wan sighed.  “No, I didn’t mean— beg pardon.”  He again dematerialized before Han could strike him, this time a few paces to the right.  “I’m just saying—“ He ducked another swipe and moved a distance backwards again. “This isn’t very conclusive—“ When Han leapt at him this time, Obi Wan simply sidestepped, allowing Han to run right off the edge of the cliff they were standing on.   

Han didn’t even have time to scream before a hand caught in the fabric on his back and stopped his fall, leaving him dangling out over the ocean.  Obi Wan’s voice was still calm as the sea breeze. “Are you done?”

Han just hung there for a moment, watching the sunlight sparkle off the rolling waves.  He had no clue where they were.

“I have a question,” Han said.

Obi Wan pulled him back to solid ground— Han took the minute satisfaction that he put some distance between them— although that may be more because the guy liked his personal space than any apprehension of Han’s abilities.  He looked at Han expectantly and Han was so, so done.

“Why?” was what came out of Han’s mouth.  “Just— _Vader_ , why? Why is he here, why is he like that, why are you defending him?  Am I missing something, because for the life of— uh, death of? —me I cannot understand.”

Obi Wan exhaled heavily through his nose, and though he didn’t physically change forms, Han once again recognized that tired old man from Tatooine.  “That’s a complicated place to start.”

“Humor me.”

Obi Wan bowed his head.  “Very well. I guess I’ll start by saying that it is better to address him as Anakin, not Vader.”

Han gave a harsh laugh.  “What, does _Vader_ not like all the blood on his name all of a sudden?”

“‘Vader’ is not actually his name,” Obi Wan corrected.  “Darth Vader is a title, given to him when he joined the Sith.  Anakin has not used that title in over thirty years, as when he returned to the Light he reclaimed the name he was born with.”

Han snorted again.  “Whatever he wants to call himself, the guy is still Darth Vader.  It doesn’t change anything he did.”

“You’re right,” Obi Wan agreed.  “It doesn’t. Darth Vader will always be a part of Anakin Skywalker, and that, and all the meaning behind it, will never go away.  However, Vader is not all there is to him.”

Han opened his mouth to scoff again, but Obi Wan beat him to it.  “How much do you actually know about him, Han?”

“He killed people,” Han said immediately.  “Millions of people in total, if we’re counting indirectly.  He ruined lives, tortured people. Tortured my wife, my brothers, _me._ ”

“That’s all you know?” Obi Wan asked him.  Han glared at him defiantly. Obi Wan sighed again.  “What has Luke told you about his father?”

Han was about to give another snarky answer, when Luke’s earnest blue eyes and eager rambling entered his head and he found himself saying something else.  “Luke said that his father was a great Jedi,” Han started reluctantly. “You two were talkin’ about it a bit that first time on the _Falcon_ and I was like ‘yeah okay’ and then after, he was looking for information on his dad and the tiny little bits we found that the Empire hadn’t destroyed said he was a great Jedi, and we had some old clone soldiers in the Rebellion who actually knew his dad and they _also_ said that Luke’s dad was a great Jedi, so…”

Han trailed off, not liking the encouraging nods Obi Wan was sending his way.  Old memories from long ago were now surfacing, and since Han was on a roll, he might as well say it.  “Look,” he said abruptly. “I was thirteen when the Clone Wars ended. I had a lotta shit going on in my childhood so I didn’t pay that much attention to galactic affairs and all of that, but Corellia was far enough into the Core that you would have had to have your head buried in the sand if you hadn’t heard the name 'Skywalker’ before.  Was all over the news, big Jedi hotshot, blondie with a blue laser sword and a whole bunch of clones following him everywhere. A part of me kinda knew that with a last name like that, chances were that was probably Luke’s mystery Jedi dad, but at the same time, it was a little difficult to connect the holo hero with my friend who got tipsy after two shots and once set his flight suit on fire three times in a single day.”

Obi Wan cracked a crooked smile.  “Oh I don’t know, they seem pretty similar to me.”

Han had another image of the man from earlier standing next to Rey and laughing brightly, the same open, happy noise that was so much like Luke’s, and once again pushed it away.  “Fine, so he might have been decent at his job once, good for him. He still turned into the ultimate evil!”

Obi Wan’s eyes looked on him in what felt like disappointment and Han felt himself bristling again, but Obi Wan was pushing onwards.  “Alright, so what about after? What did Luke say about his father’s death?”

Han couldn’t help himself this time.  “Well for a while, his story was that Vader killed him.”  Obi Wan’s face grew pinched and Han relented, more memories he didn’t care to think about coming to mind.  “Then, he, uh, he changed his tune. Right around the time he explained that Leia was his sister, he said that Vader was his father, that he had gone evil so his kids had to be separated and hidden from him to protect them, but then Luke had convinced him to be good again?  Somehow? I don’t remember exactly what happened, but he apparently killed the Emperor to save Luke, and then he died. Apparently they’ve kept in touch.”

_Luke had finished telling Han and Chewie the story without as much as looking either of them in the eye the entire time.  When he was done, he glanced up at them in his wide, pleading gaze. “My father was a good man,” he told them, practically begged.  “I’m not asking you to forgive Vader, but—“ He cut himself off, looking away again, fingers fiddling with his black glove apprehensively.  Blue eyes kept flicking to Han and away, to Chewie and away again._

_Han and Chewie shared a look, before reaching out in unison and wrapping Luke in a group hug.  The second they made contact, Han felt the tension drain out of Luke’s body in a rush. “I’m not ashamed of him,” Luke mumbled into Han’s shoulder.  “He’s— he’s a ghost now, and we’re going to try and work something out. Leia says— Leia doesn’t agree, but I’m going to do it.”_

_“Do what you need to do, Luke,” Chewie rumbled softly, and Han just squeezed tighter._

_“What Chewie said, kid.  We’re not going anywhere.”_

Coming back to the present, Han could see the similarities in Obi Wan’s determined gaze as he did in Luke’s back then and after whenever the topic of his father came up.

“Luke spoke the truth,” Obi Wan told him gently.  “Anakin came back to us. It may have cost him his life, but he did.  He’s spent the entire time since recovering and repenting.”

“Alright, so he feels bad about it.  Good for him. That means that we all magically have to forgive him now?”  Han pushed any thoughts of Luke out of his head at this, reminding himself that he had a damn point, and that he had always _thought_ it whenever his brother brought up Vader, he just never had the heart to say it to Luke’s face.  “Luke had a bad habit of giving everybody way too many second chances, is that just a Jedi thing or do you have a different excuse?”

Obi Wan blinked.  “I’m sorry, where exactly did I excuse him?”

There was a tone in his voice that told Han to tread carefully, but he never was any good at following warning signs.  “You— everywhere! This whole conversation has just been you going ‘Oh, but Han, overlook the murder and he’s really a nice guy!’  Give me a break.”

“I have done nothing of the sort,” Obi Wan countered.  “You asked me for an explanation, Han. Why is Anakin here?  I’m telling you. He is here because it is physically impossible to follow the Way of the Whills and ascend into the Cosmic Force unless there is Light in you.  Unless there is _good_ in you. Anakin is here because at certain points, he was a good man, and that is what he’s trying to be now.”

 _”Certain points”?_   Han stood there scowling for a moment, struggling to come up with a rebuttal that wasn’t the childish _It’s not fair!_   Actually, fuck it. “That does not seem right. Or fair!”

He got a shrug in response.  “That’s how the Force works.”

Han’s jaw dropped.  _Did he just—?!_

“Do not misunderstand me, Han,” Obi Wan continued quickly, likely sensing danger.  “The Force may have accepted Anakin, but that does _not_ mean that _you_ are required to forgive him in any way.  He hurt you badly and you are under no obligation to have anything to do with him.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Han shot back, crossing his arms.  “Some of us can’t just look the other way.” 

Obi Wan’s lip quirked upwards.  “I’m going to assume that last bit was for me, seeing as how I can practically feel the judgement radiating off of you.  You don’t approve of _me_ forgiving Anakin?”

Han faltered, about to vehemently deny it on reflex and tell the crazy wizard to stay out of his head, even though he was completely right.  “Look, I just don’t understand why. You know what he’s done.”

Obi Wan paused for a moment, gaze drifting out past Han and parsecs away before he suddenly turned to face Han directly, head held high and eyes bright as stars.  “I am intimately familiar with what he’s done.” His voice was very quiet, and Han didn’t dare interrupt. “It does not change that I care for him, so if it’s an apology from me you’re expecting, I’m afraid you won’t get it.  I spent my entire life apologizing to the world and to myself for Anakin’s actions, apologizing for loving him in spite of them, for loving him in general, and I’ll always regret it. I’ve done much to apologize for, but for that, I will not.  Not anymore.” 

Silence. 

Han… was not expecting that.

The other ghost was still staring right at him, the pleasant neutrality on his face belying the conviction burning behind his eyes.  

_I’m not asking you to forgive Vader…_ Luke’s voice whispered.

Han had grown up learning that the most important person in anyone’s life should be themself, that being close to someone was alright, but if that person crossed you, got in your way, then you needed to cut them out immediately.  Don’t think twice, don’t look back, just shoot first and walk away. Han had never been the best at being that person, much as he tried. Whenever he ran from someone, sooner or later he always found himself running back, even if the person deserved to be left behind, because Han had a nasty habit of leaving a bit of himself with whoever had managed to get past his rough exterior.

He had known back then he’d never be able to blame Luke for wanting some sort of relationship with the father he never knew.  Taking another look at Obi Wan, one last memory came to Han’s mind.

“I saw you on the holonews too, didn’t I?” Han realized.  “Your name popped up just as much as his did, they’d talk about you together, and the guy they were talking about looked like you.  That was you.”

Obi Wan offered him the smallest of grins.  “Well, it is a common name, but I assume if Anakin’s name came up too, then yes, that was me.”

“Huh.”  Han chewed on his lip, thinking things through.  “So, you two were really that close?” He held up crossed fingers as an example.

“Yes.”  Obi Wan barely let Han finish his sentence before answering with his own crossed fingers, and Han knew.

“Huh,” he said again, inwardly swearing.  Han wasn’t going to pry (probably), but whatever Obi Wan’s relationship to Vader was, it was clear they were definitely family enough that he had the same amount of justification as Luke for actually wanting to spend time with an ex-evil death robot.  Maybe more, Han amended unhappily, as this guy actually knew Vader before he was The Worst.

Han huffed, jamming his hands in his jacket pockets— his new- _old_ jacket.  He realized with a start that sometime after meeting Vader, his attire had once again shifted to what was probably the first thing he was wearing when meeting Vader in life.  Creepy… — and addressing Obi Wan. “Okay, fine. I might still hate the guy, but I get that you can’t because feelings. Just don’t expect me to ever not hate him, okay?“

“Han,” Obi Wan started, face already lit up in a warm smile that made Han feel oddly proud of himself for some reason.  “All I ask is that you be civil. There are some other spirits living here, as I mentioned, myself included. We’re already forced to watch the living realm go to shit, so it would be much appreciated if you could refrain from disturbing the remaining peace by attacking Anakin.”

“But he—“ Han began.

“Deserves it?  Most likely,” Obi Wan agreed, still smiling widely.  “Nevertheless, that is my one request. No physical attacks on him; if I wanted something making noise and tripping everyone up trying to bite and scratch at ankles, I would have gotten a tooka—“

_”Excuse me—”_

“—and no emotional or verbal attacks on him either.  Anakin can be… well, your wife does share half of his genetic makeup.  I know you’re well aware of what happens when something sets Leia off.”

Still smarting from the tooka comment, Han’s emotions made a quick trip through righteous anger on Leia’s behalf for being associated with Vader, and then right into a cold sweat as the meaning of Obi Wan’s words dawned on him.  “Oh…”

Obi Wan clapped Han’s shoulder.  “Good man. Just try and pretend he’s not there, hmm?”

Han felt the last vestiges of his temper flaring up.  “Hey, wait a minute. Why am I the one getting all the rules and scolding?  What if he—“

A single chuckle escaped Obi Wan, something amusing obviously going on inside his head.  “Peace, Han. Anakin will be on his best behavior around you.” 

Han scoffed.  “Says you?” _Vader stabbed you, pal._

Obi Wan raised his chin, eyes glittering.  “Says me.”

He looked so self-assured Han almost believed him.

Han’s doubt must have been pinging the Jedi-sense-airwaves, because now Obi Wan was rolling his eyes.  “Trust me. He’ll behave.”

A tug on Han’s pant leg interrupted his response.  

Han looked down, yelled loudly and leapt a good four feet in the air.  He landed on his ass because of course, bringing him face to face with the little creature who had appeared at his feet out of karking nowhere.

“Mmm?” the creature croaked, sticking out a gnarled claw of a hand towards Han’s face.  “What have we here?”

“Green baby.”  Han babbled, pointing a finger at the creature and leaning ever so slightly away from it.  “ _Ugly_ green baby. Ugly baby frog, frog baby? Baby troll—“

A snickering sound behind Han startled him enough to whip around, catching his elbow on something squishy that might have been the troll frog baby.  He caught a glimpse of two pairs of legs before something grabbed his elbow and flipped Han airborne again with near superhuman strength. Han crashed into the ground right next to Obi Wan, and once the world stopped spinning he was able to finally sit up and stare because what the kriff just happened.

Ugly baby was gripping a walking stick and scowling a good meter or so up at Vader, who Han recognized, and standing next to him was an even taller man who Han did not.

“Something amusing, Skywalker?” the green troll said threateningly, and damn if Vader and the other man didn’t look at least mildly frightened, even though the taller one was obviously making a face to hide laughter while Vader was openly laughing under a useless hand slapped across his mouth.

To his credit, Vader straightened up and fixed the gremlin with the most shit-eating grin.  

“Cheek,” Han heard Obi Wan mutter from above him.  

“Uh, yeah,” Vader drawled.  “Han called you a troll baby and you tossed him over your shoulder.  It was funny— ow!”

The other man did release a snort as the troll baby’s stick shot out almost quicker than blaster fire to crack across Vader’s shin, sending him hopping on one foot and yelping as he ducked a second swipe for his head.  

Han craned his neck up to Obi Wan.  “Hey, why is the frog allowed to hit him and I can’t?”

Obi Wan looked down at him with a somewhat put-upon look.  “I make no promises for Yoda’s behavior.”

Yoda.  Han had heard the name from Luke before, a Jedi Master?  One of Luke’s ghost friends, which made sense, since Han was, you know, dead, and this guy could apparently touch him to karking launch him like that.

Yoda’s giant bat ears swiveled in Obi Wan’s direction at the sound of his name being spoken.  “Eh? More commentary, we have?”

“No,” Obi Wan said a little too quickly and a mite too high-pitched, and Han stifled a laugh.  He got a sharp glare in return and an arm tugging at his shoulder for him to stand up. “Just getting your attention.  Masters, I believe introductions are in order?”

Han took a closer look at the two newcomers and yeah, these guys were wearing the same Jedi garb.  They were probably the other two ghosts Luke talked to— shit, how many ghosts did Obi Wan say were here again?  And was that counting Han? Slag it, he didn’t know.

The unknown man raised his hand, blue eyes examining Han critically.  “He’s Han Solo, isn’t he.”

Han only found it mildly offsetting that a random ghost he had never met knew who he was, and that said a lot about how kriffed up his life was.

Han opened his mouth to answer him, but Obi Wan was there first.  “Yes, Master he is.”

“And he can speak for himself,” Han snapped, not going to just stand back and let the important guys talk about him right in front of his face.  Puffing out his chest, he strode towards the two other Jedi, pasting a charming smile onto his face. He stood up straight, put one hand to his heart, the other swept behind his back, tucked one ankle behind the other, and executed a sweeping traditional Alderaanian bow, just as a war hero, the husband of a princess and a senator, the brother of a Jedi Master, should.

“Master Jedi, I am Han Solo.  You guys weren’t ever evil, were you?”

Vader gave an awkward cough, and Han heard Obi Wan behind him.  “I never got a _bow_.”

Han straightened back up, facing the other two ghosts.  “I wasn’t kidding about that last part.”

“I’m sure you weren’t.”  The tall man spoke now, offering Han a bow in return and a curious stare.  “Qui Gon Jinn. To my knowledge, I was never evil, though of course ‘evil’ in itself is a highly subjective term—“

“Yes, yes,” Yoda interrupted, earning a disgruntled look from Jinn that he ignored, too busy staring at Han with old, wizened eyes that felt as if they were internally picking Han to pieces to see what he was made of.  “Master Yoda, I am. Dead, are you?”

Han blinked, unsure if he was having a sort of stroke or something.  “Uh, what? Yeah, I died. Pretty sure, anyway.” He shot a quick glance at Obi Wan just to confirm it.  Obi Wan nodded. Han cleared his throat. “Yes, I am completely dead.” 

Yoda must have noticed who Han was looking at, for when he spoke again it was to Han, but his questioning gaze was now on Obi Wan, whose face was perfectly blank.  “Very interesting, that is.”

The speech pattern was _really_ throwing Han here.

“Have some Force sensitivity, you do,” Yoda mused, and Han bristled because _how dare?_   “And yet, even the strongest who wield it, unable to achieve this existence are they. How did you do it, I wonder?”

Obi Wan spoke up now, which was a relief because Han still had no fucking clue.  “I think the only one of us who really knows the answer to that is Anakin.”

All eyes now shot to Vader, who was standing off to the side and looking quite like someone had just trained a blaster on him.  “Traitor,” he hissed at Obi Wan.

“You made your bed,” Obi Wan retorted.  “You can explain everything.”

“Oh, I want to hear this,” Qui Gon said.

 _So do I!_ Han thought, the realization dawning on him now that he still did not know why he was here besides it somehow being Vader’s fault.

Vader huffed, running a hand through his unruly hair in a nervous tic Han had seen Luke do multiple times.  “Alright, so, Han was dying, right? I grabbed onto his soul before it could fade away and pulled him over here instead.  No big deal.”

For Han, that cleared things up exactly zero percent.  “You grabbed my... what?!” 

Apparently he was the only one, as the other ghosts had stiffened in shock. 

“Impossible, that is,” Yoda protested.

Jinn was nodding.  “Dying souls are too fluid, you can barely even see them for the brief moments they appear before they pass on, let alone touch one.”

“Let alone push it through the astral divide with enough energy for it to manifest here,” Obi Wan added.  Noticing the confusion that must be written all over Han’s face, he elaborated. “Han, when one dies, their spirit ascends into a deeper realm of the pure force.  Hardly anyone even knows there is a midway layer in this world, and even fewer have the ability and the direction to find and follow the path. Master Qui Gon here was the first to ever figure it out, and we all learned from him.”

Han summed it up.  “So basically, becoming a ghost is difficult, and I shouldn’t be here because I didn’t follow the right route?”

“The _only_ route,” Qui Gon corrected.  “You’re a good man, Han, but it just doesn’t make sense that you even made it to a point that Anakin could reach you when you didn’t even know this place existed.”

“He didn’t make it to me,” Vader cut in.  “I made it to him. I felt a weak spot in the divide and punched my way through and sort of pulled at him, like a Force-pull.  His soul just reeled right in.” 

“Like a magnet?” Han blurted out, surprising himself.  

Vader cocked his head.  “More like a fish. I cast out the Force and it caught you.”

Han much preferred his magnet metaphor.  _Be “civil” to the guy and he calls you a fish.  Yay diplomacy._

The other ghosts had all gone very quiet, Obi Wan eventually breaking the silence.  “Anakin, you know how extremely dangerous that is,” he said, voice low. 

Vader was the one to jump in and rescue Han from ignorance this time.  “This is a one-way trip, Han. Once we’re here, we can use the Force to affect things in the living world because the Force exists on every plane and ghosts can draw enough energy from it to control it past the divide.  Souls themselves just physically can’t send more than a projection of themselves back, because if you try to drag your whole self across that wall, your soul kinda gets the equivalent of being spaced with no protection on.”

“Ew,” Han said. 

“You bounce back from it eventually,” Vader added, probably trying to be reassuring. It wasn’t.

“And yet, you crossed that line,” Qui Gon pointed out. “Unharmed.”

“Oh, there was totally the chance Han and I could have gotten trans-dimensionally squished if I hadn’t been able to hold the veil back,” Vader said. 

“Sorry, repeat that?” Han demanded.

Vader ignored him. “No, I don’t know how I did it, it was all a rush and I really didn’t think it through—“

“A surprise, that is,” Yoda muttered.

“Let me finish my story!” Vader insisted. “I just knew that Han could not go anywhere even if I had to make him stay, so I panicked and made a grab for him and I guess the panic gave me enough power to squeeze through and back in one piece?”

A singular bark of laughter burst from Obi Wan before he clapped a hand over his mouth. His shoulders were still shaking and his eyes were slightly watery.

“What’s so funny?” Han and Vader demanded in unison, neither appreciating Obi Wan’s apparent mirth towards the both of them nearly getting their souls scrambled.

Obi Wan wiped his eyes. “Oh, nothing really. It’s only that, well, ‘Master, I panicked and tore a hole in the veil between life and death’ is such a _you_ thing to do, Anakin, that despite how utterly insane it is, I cannot be surprised.”

“Hey!” Vader protested.

“Surprised _I_ am,” Yoda butt in. “ _That_ powerful, you are?”

“I’m not surprised,” Qui Gon commented. “Though I also watched what Anakin pulled that one time on Mortis, so unlike Master Yoda, I have seen it before.”

“The only one, am I, who does _not_ know the full story behind that planet?” Yoda asked, batlike ear flicking irritably.

“I promise you I have no idea what the hells anyone is talking about,” Han assured him.

“It’s not a big deal,” Vader said at the same time Obi Wan said, “Anakin's raised the dead before.”

Han nearly tripped over himself scrambling away from Vader at that, struck utterly speechless. Vader rolled his eyes, rounding on Obi Wan. “Force’s sake, Master, you’re acting like I dug up her skeletal remains. She was dead for like a minute, tops. Medics have done more with a karking defibrillator.”

“I don’t see you mentioning how you did it.”

“Obviously it isn’t that important as you didn’t say a thing while I was doing it, nor did you see fit to ever tell me about it afterwards!”

“Neither of you remembered it happened! I was half-convinced I had hit my head in the crash and dreamt the whole mess up, I never told anyone!”

Han _still_ didn’t know what anyone was talking about, and it was at this moment he decided that he was done. “Everyone, stop talking!” He must have yelled that louder than he had intended to, because all ghosts immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to face Han expectantly, heads swiveling in unison like a flock of converse and wasn’t that just unnerving?

Han took a deep breath, steadying his hands and running through his head exactly what he wanted to say. He took a step towards Vader, then another. Vader was meeting his gaze with that same wounded animal guilt face that Han was refusing to pay any attention to whatsoever. He pointed a finger at Vader. “You.”

“Me,” Vader responded.

Han grit his teeth. “You’ve done all sorts of twisted shit, and apparently it’s all dangerous. From what I’m understanding, you could have gotten seriously messed up bringing me to Ghost World like you did, could have messed us both up. I want to know why. Why did you bring me here? You know our history. What do you want from me, Vader?”

Vader physically flinched backwards from the name Han spat at him, and he could feel the tension in the others around him too. Han refused to pay it any mind, choosing to not see the pain that flickered on Vader’s face. _I’m not antagonizing him. That’s still his name, that’s still who he is. I don’t have to forgive anything._ Han stared Vader in the eye and repeated himself: “Why?”

Vader’s voice was soft. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

A pause. “It was because of Leia.”

Anger immediately sparked a roaring flame inside Han. _How dare he?_ “Liar.”

“It was!” Vader snapped, anger flickering in his own eyes, and Han was glad to see it, glad to see something more fitting to an evil monster than the hazy, confusing guilt. But then, just as quick, the anger was gone, Vader breathing in and exhaling with a harsh breath. “You don’t have to believe me, Han, but it’s the truth.”

“Leia hates you.”

A humorless smile. “Yeah, she does. You know why? It’s not that hard to guess. It is because every single bad thing that ever happened in her life was somehow my fault.”

Han’s lip curled into a sneer. At least he was self-aware.

“The Empire I started made her life hell as she grew up,” Vader continued. “It took her parents and her whole planet away, ruined the galaxy. Me being a Sith Lord meant she was separated from her brother, put a target on her head, ruined her political career, was the reason her son Fell.” The last part stabbed Han right in the heart all over again, but from the look of Vader, he didn’t seem to be doing much better. He seemed to be struggling to get the next words out. “I was the reason Leia wasn’t raised by her birth mother in the first place.”

Han froze, unsure of how to respond to that. The topic of Luke and Leia’s biological mother had come up, of course it had, but it had mainly consisted of the great things she had done in life. Her death wasn’t discussed as often, mainly on the account that the twins could not agree on it. Leia was insistent that Vader had killed their mother, while Luke was certain it wasn’t that simple.

It seemed that Han was going to get the answer now, as Vader went on, voice trembling slightly. “I loved my wife more than you could possibly imagine. Still do. For some reason, she loved me too. So when she found out I had Fallen, what I had done, she didn’t run away. She tracked me down, thought she could bring me back.”

Vader’s eyes were suspiciously bright, and Han avoided them. Vader could not be crying. “She stood across from me, pregnant with our child, _begging_ me to snap out of it. She asked me to come home, just like you asked Ben, Han.”

Han didn’t want to hear this. Vader seemed to be blind to his discomfort or just ignoring it. “I’m sure you can guess what my response to that was.”

Han couldn’t stop himself. “You killed her.”

The resounding _”No,”_ from all three of the other ghosts present startled both Han and Vader. Vader’s head moved between the three of them, unhappy scowl on his face, but all of them were fixing him with scolding looks, so he rolled his eyes with a growl, turning back to Han. “Her death was my fault, let’s leave it at that. And she had no Force Sensitivity whatsoever, so she passed on right away, and I’ll never get to see her again. Ever.”

Still unsure on whether Vader had actually killed his wife or not, Han struggled for a response. “That sucks.”

“It does,” Vader agreed. “But I deserve it. Leia doesn’t deserve to never see her husband again.”

It felt like icy cold fingers were suddenly gripping the back of Han’s neck. It hadn’t occurred to him, that if he wasn’t brought here, that wherever he ended up might mean he’d never be able to see Leia again. No Luke, no Chewie, no Lando, no Ben. No one. Han had never really feared death before, but now, having realized just how fortunate he was with this ghost gig, the fear of the unknown was definitely creeping in.

Vader was still talking. “I can’t bring back what Leia’s already lost. I can’t do anything that could make up for what I’ve done to her, fuck knows I can’t ever be her father. I can try and keep her life from getting any worse, though, and if that means breaking the Force to keep you around, Han, then that’s what I’m going to do.” 

Han had no words. Obi Wan could tell him all he wanted that Vader had changed, that he wasn’t evil anymore, but Han knew better. People couldn’t simply change everything about themselves, and he wasn’t even certain the dark, hulking, murderous cyborg qualified as “people”. And yet, here was the man from those long-ago holoreels, wearing Luke’s face and proclaiming that he would break every rule to make Leia happy. That man and the man who had _tortured_ Leia were one and the same, and Han did not understand.

He had to say something, though. “Well then. Er, thanks for the, uh, save.”

Vader did a visible double take at this, and Han was offended. He did have manners. “Don’t mention it,” Vader managed, voice cracking on the second syllable, and Han was absolutely going to take him up on that offer and never acknowledge it again.

Another thought appeared to him, and Han sobered. “You kind of did it for nothing, though. Leia doesn’t talk to ghosts.”

There was that sardonic smile from Vader. “She doesn’t talk to _me_. You, I think she’ll make an exception for.”

Obi Wan gave a disgruntled huff. “She does speak to me on occasion, you know.”

Yoda sniffed. “Very rude to me that one time, she was.

“We all appeared to her at once,” Qui Gon reminded him. “I think it was a touch overwhelming.”

“Can… can I talk to her, then?” Han ventured, not willing to give himself hope.

Obi Wan gave Han a soft smile from where he had moved over to put his hand on Vader’s shoulder. “I think that can be arranged. Don’t you think so, Anakin?”

Vader nodded quickly. “I should probably checking out the Resistance by now anyway. The First Order is definitely going to launch a retaliatory attack, and I want to see how Finn and Rey are doing. Especially Finn.”

Qui Gon spoke up. “Wait a moment, what happened to Finn? Yoda and I don’t know anything about the rest of your adventure.”

Obi Wan shot Vader a raised brow. “You were gone fetching the others for quite a while. I assumed you filled them in.”

Vader made a face. “I was gone for a while because I spent a karking eon trying and failing to get Luke’s attention. When I finally gave up, it took even longer to convince Yoda to go find Qui Gon for me.”

“A messenger droid, I am not,” Yoda retorted.

“I told you, I couldn’t leave the island!” Vader protested.

Han had another thing on his mind. “Wait, what do you mean you tried to talk to Luke? You know where Luke is?”

All the ghosts went silent in the way that Han was learning meant that they had the answer, but Han wasn’t going to like it. “Yes, we do,” Obi Wan admitted. “He lives here, on this island we’re standing on.”

“He’s _here?_ ” Han demanded. “Why the kriff didn’t you tell me? Where is he, I want to—“

A twisted stick stuck out in front of him halted his path. “A good idea, that is not,” Yoda rasped.

Han only barely resisted the urge to kick him like a wrinkled green ball. “Piss off, tiny. That’s my brother you’re—“

“The one who’s avoided you for five years?” Obi Wan’s voice stopped Han in his tracks. He whipped around to glower at the guy who seemed to delight in wielding the hard truth like a razor whip. “Luke didn’t just run away from his living family,” Obi Wan continued. “He has completely shut himself off in the Force. We haven’t been able to speak to him either. You can see him, but he won’t even know you’re there, just like the rest of the living world.”

“But I _want_ to see him,” Han said, ignoring how childish it sounded because it was the truth.

“I know you do,” Obi Wan told him. “And you will see him, but I think we can all agree it would be best if you got to talk to your wife first.”

Han hesitated, more than ready to fight him on it, but then Leia’s sweet brown eyes appeared in his head and he relented. “Fine. But I go to see Luke right after.”

“Whatever you want,” Obi Wan told him genially, and Han had the suspicion he had been mentally maneuvered into complacency, but he had no idea how and no way to prove it.

“Explanation first,” Yoda commanded. Han was more than tempted to tell him he could wait until Han had gotten back, see how he liked being kept in the dark about stuff, but Obi Wan and Vader had already straightened and faced Yoda with shoulders squared and hands clasped behind their backs like they were giving a report at a military debriefing. Han had the feeling they had done this before. 

“Right,” Obi Wan said. “The last thing you were informed of was our unexpected exit from Takodana, yes?” At Yoda and Qui Gon’s nods, he continued. “Unfortunately, upon our return we found we had been beaten there by Kylo Ren and the—“

“Don’t call him that,” Han blurted out, setting all eyes on him again. He flushed slightly, but didn’t back down. “Don’t call him Kylo Ren. That’s not his name.”

Obi Wan’s eyes narrowed. “Is that not what he calls himself?”

“It’s not who he is…” Han trailed off at Obi Wan’s pleasantly inquisitive smile edged with the hint of something razor sharp. He realized exactly what the Jedi was getting at. Nevertheless… “His name is Ben,” Han managed to insist without choking on the hypocrisy. Barely.

Obi Wan didn’t spare it another moment. “Of course.” He offered Han a polite bow. “Ben. My apologies, Han.” He then turned away from Han to again stand beside Vad— his _friend_ , who had been shuffling his feet awkwardly. “As I was saying,” he told the two other Masters, “We had found that we had been beaten there by Ben Solo and the First Order…”

Han stood back and watched as the pair recounted blow-by-blow the adventure he and Chewie had had with their two young charges— with an additional side of _what in the hells_ as they described mind control, teleportations, sketchy feelings. Even when they recounted Han’s son’s torture of Rey with uneasy looks in his direction, even when they reached Han’s death— “And then he, uh, stabbed Han, and you all know that part. Anyway, so the Force said I could keep him, so…” —they referred to Han’s son only by Ben Solo.

As they wound down to the end of the tale— both men omitted the bit with Han’s punch —Han noticed how the entire time they had been finishing each other’s sentences to the point he had barely even noticed it was two people giving a report, not one. Weird.

The other Masters either didn’t notice it or were used to it, because Qui Gon just gave a chuckle. “Well, Anakin, you’ve certainly followed my legacy of bringing in strays.”

“Hey,” Han said.

“Oh, definitely keeping him, are we?” Yoda asked.

 _”Hey,”_ Han said.

“Called me an ugly troll baby, you did,” Yoda retorted.

“Don’t take it personally, I’m fairly certain he called me a hell demon when he first saw me,” Obi Wan offered. 

Han felt the blood drain from his face. Of course he had said that thought out loud…

“Obi Wan doesn’t look anything like a hell demon!” Great, now the ex-Sith Lord was scowling at him over it, and Han bit back the urge to ask him if he ever met a real one. 

“He heard me wrong, I said he was too pretty to be a hell demon!” _Shit, that doesn’t mean tell the truth, laserbrain!_

“And what’s _that_ supposed to mean?” The scowl deepened, and Han certainly didn’t find it intimidating.

Obi Wan just looked bemused. “I’ve had stranger compliments. Thank you, I suppose.”

“Yep. No problem.” Han was eager to change the topic. “Can I go see Leia now?”

Obi Wan nodded. “Of course. Anakin will have to take you, however. As he brought you over, you seem to be at least temporarily tethered to him; you two must remain on the same planet at all times.” Obi Wan gave him a warning look at this and Han knew he was reminding him of his promise to remain civil.

_Ugh._

Han felt his eye twitch at the thought of being _tethered_ to— no, no. Think of Leia. “But she doesn’t talk to him!”

“All he has to do is get her attention,” Obi Wan told him. “You can do the rest.”

Han wanted to be angry about it, he really did. This was a hundred percent a violation of his privacy, it had to be. But he had been angry practically since the moment he had woken up in this strange new afterlife, and anger was draining. Now, Han just wanted his wife. 

He turned to the other man standing next to him like a prisoner would to a firing squad. “Fine. Is my transport ready, Lord Va—“ Han bit his tongue on the word, unable to get the rest out. 

He thought on how no one had called his son Kylo Ren after he had asked them not to.

_I’m not calling him “Dad”._

Han cleared his throat. “You ready to go… human?” He cringed.

 _We’ll work on the names…_

Not-Vader had been showing the beginnings of the sad lothcat face, but upon Han’s turnaround, a shy grin had appeared in its place. “Ready when you are.” He held out his hand for Han to take.

Han made a face as well as a show of reaching out and grasping the pinky finger of the proffered hand between his own thumb and pointer finger. He tensed, almost dropping it when he realized he felt metal underneath the glove.

 _Anakin_ noticed Han’s flinch and gave an apologetic shrug, saying “You better hold on.” 

Han barely had a second to do so before they were both whirling away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the Han POV took over completely this chapter, next one we're gonna be back with what Team Hot Mess is gonna be thinkin'. 
> 
> Not much left to say here, except that I hoped you liked this chapter and I REALLY hope you like the next one and also I'm currently crying in the club cuz LF is gonna finally give us that Obi Wan show and I cannot handle it guys I just can't even--
> 
> Anywho, let me know what you thought in the comments below!


	21. Father-Daughter Bonding: Skywalker Edition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter there is:
> 
> 1\. Increasing Angst Ahead, this is your warning!
> 
> 2\. A reference from another bit of media that I shamelessly stole ;)

Han didn’t care that the last time he had went on the little teleporting trip Obi Wan, it had also felt like his insides were getting squeezed through a vacuum tube. He was blaming the wave of nausea that rolled over him the moment they set down completely on a grassy hill on Vad-Anakin.

“I’m two seconds from puking on you,” Han muttered, bracing himself with one hand against Anakin’s shoulder, making sure to keep at least an arm’s length of distance between them.

“Actually, I’m not sure if ghosts even can puke here,” Anakin offered, thinking of all the times here he had either drank too much or seen something highly disturbing. “I mean, I know the spot to hit to trigger someone’s gag reflex and induce vomiting, but I don’t feel willing to make that sacrifice right now and I don’t think you do either.”

Han didn’t answer him, turning away and scanning the sun setting over the D’Qar airbase. Anakin shrugged. He wouldn’t try and force Han to talk to him; stars knew Anakin wouldn’t want to if their positions had been reversed. Hells, Anakin likely would have committed a violent murder twice-over by now if their positions had been reversed.

Anakin coughed. “Uh, no rush, but Leia’s most likely down in the command centre if you want to go look for her…” He stopped, noticing where Han’s gaze had landed. _Oh, Han…_

Despite the fact that he was here to see his wife, Han couldn’t tear his eyes from the one he had always joked was the most important lady in his life. The _Millennium Falcon_ shone dully in the amber glow of the sunset, every smudge and scrape and patched up side hatch that would have gone unnoticeable to anyone else lit up in stark detail to Han’s familiar eye.

It had to be because they were looking down on her from the top of a hill.

She hadn’t always looked that… small.

Had she?

He’d never get to fly her again.

“She’s a good ship,” Anakin told him, and Han clenched his jaw, forced to remember his unwanted company. 

“She was family,” Han said, giving his old girl one last lookover before making his way down the hill. “You said Leia was probably in Command? Why’d you park so far away then?”

Anakin hurried after him. “Leia keeps high shields around herself to keep out any Force attacks, and she especially doesn’t like me, so if I try to land too close to her, I can end up rebounding to the other side of the planet. Better to just come in at a distance and then walk.”

Han grunted in what Anakin took as acknowledgement and they made the rest of their walk down to the entrance to the base in silence. Anakin said nothing when they were crossing the tarmac and Han’s feet took him halfway towards the entrance to his ship on reflex, and he had the feeling Han appreciated him for it.

Once they reached the base entrance, Anakin halted abruptly, causing Han to walk straight into his back. He ducked around him, annoyed. “Hey, aren’t we invisible to the door guards? What’s with the holdup?”

“We are invisible,” Anakin said, waving a hand in front of one guard’s unseeing eyes as proof. “I was just searching for Leia and I found Rey instead. She’s probably with Finn, so I figured that once I got Leia to see you, I’d get out of your hair and go visit them.”

Instead of making some sort of snark about being glad Anakin would be leaving them like Anakin expected, Han’s face instead broke its mask of irritation to briefly show something that looked like apprehension. “Oh. Well, if you already know where they are, we might as well just go find them now.”

Anakin quirked a brow. “Don’t you want to find your wife?”

“Yes,” Han shot back. “I’m just— I don’t— hey, I left Finn and Rey alone and let my kid beat them up. I want to see if they’re alright. I also should be looking for Chewie. It’s not like Leia’s gonna go anywhere.”

Anakin opened his mouth, ready to push further because Han was vibrating pure energy in the Force, his love and longing for Leia practically tangible; why did he suddenly seem _scared,_ but he caught another look at the stormy expression on Han’s face and a voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Obi Wan urged him to let this one go, it wasn’t his place.

Shaking off the nagging urge to question, Anakin shrugged. “Okay. I’m pretty sure they’re in the medbay. Follow me.”

“I know where the medbay is,” Han snapped, making a point to shoulder past him and take the lead down the halls into the inner workings of the base, using that annoyance to cover up his nerves.

What if Leia didn’t want to speak to him?

She had asked him to bring their son back, and Han had failed her. She had asked him to be Ben’s father, and Han had failed her. He _promised_ her he would come back to her, that he was done walking away— _and he, who had held her at night when she had woken up screaming out names long lost, who was the only one besides Luke who knew the depths of just how greatly she feared people leaving her, of being all alone_ — and he had failed her spectacularly. He’d never hold her again.

And here he was skulking back to her now: dead, empty handed, and somehow tied to a man she despised.

Han Solo, everyone. Husband of the year.

“Han,” Anakin called out behind him.

Han whipped around to glare at him. “What.”

Anakin pointed to the hallway on the right. “Medbay’s down there?”

Han, who had been about to walk down the hallway on the left, said “Hmm,” turning sharply on one heel and marching down the correct corridor, Anakin drifting along a few paces behind him and not wanting to make whatever mood he had sunken into worse.

Upon reaching the entrance to the medbay, however, both ghosts froze in the doorway. 

Finn was— fortunately, for the Resistance —the only current resident. In the relative center of the room, he lay in a brightly-lit I.C.U. pod, swathed in medical white and beeping wires connected to his sleeping form. 

Anakin was at his side in a flash, Han grumbling about showoffs as he speedwalked the distance across the room to meet them. Illuminated by the harsh medical lighting, Finn’s handsome, sleeping face seemed so much younger, lightened by the lack of crinkled worry that had rarely left his expression since the moment either ghost had laid eyes on him.

“Pretty good, Big Deal,” Han murmured, patting the space above Finn’s shoulder. “At least he’s not in a bacta tank. That’s a good sign, right?”

Rather than chiming in with something reassuring like a normal human being, Anakin pursed his lips. “Hmm, hard to say. Saber wounds can be tricky. Sometimes you’re bouncing back immediately from a really nasty wound, and sometimes you’re out of commission for a month over something that’s practically nothing.” Seeing Han’s peeved look, Anakin quickly added, “Though I’m sure he’ll wake up in no time. Finn is strong.”

The furrow of Han’s brow only dipped further and Anakin chose to clear his throat awkwardly and turn away, accepting that that was probably going to be Han’s default face when being forced to interact with Anakin. 

Having moved his eyes away from Finn, Anakin spotted something else right next to him and nudged Han. “Hey.”

Han roughly elbowed him back. “Hey what— oh…” He trailed off upon seeing what Anakin was nodding to. There, slumped over on a bench with his eyes never leaving Finn, was Chewbacca. Tucked neatly into his side, having finally been given a new set of clothes and still grasping Anakin’s lightsaber tightly was Rey, fast asleep with her face buried in Chewie’s soft fur.

“How long do you think she’s been there?” Han found himself suddenly lowering his voice to a hush, despite there being no way for Rey to hear him.

“I’ve done the bedside sit way too many times,” Anakin whispered back. “If she’s anything like me, she’s been there since they said she could see him and hasn’t left since.”

“I’ve done it too, and I think you’re right,” Han said. “It’s all the better she’s got Chewie with her. She’s already figured out that he makes a great pillow, and he does a good job scaring away any medics thinking of kicking you out.”

Anakin chuckled softly at this, and Han resisted the urge to scowl at him for it because _how dare you laugh at my joke_ was a little much, even for him. He chose to focus instead on Chewie’s face, and then on Rey’s when he realized how bad an idea it was to try and watch the open grief that still shone in his brother’s eyes.

Silently, the odd spectral pair kept vigil for an uncounted amount of time over Chewie and Rey and Finn, the only movement from either living or dead being when Chewie shifted to gently reposition Rey if she seemed in danger of slipping off his shoulder.

The silence couldn’t last forever, though.

“Ah! Chewbacca, I’ve been looking for you!”

Anakin facepalmed.

Han felt a slightly-hysterical laugh bubble up. “Of course. Of course I can karking die and this one’s still going to be bursting in to test my sanity. Why wouldn’t he?”

Anakin frowned. “That’s a little mean, don’t you think?” and Han was seconds away from going straight-up feral on him before he was interrupted by C-3PO flat-out walking _through_ him on the way to see Chewie, blathering right over Han’s indignant spluttering. 

“And young Rey is right there, too, how convenient! I was actually coming to— oh yes, she is sleeping, isn’t she? Might I suggest you lower your voice, we wouldn’t want to wake her, would we?”

Chewie, who had been growling lowly with a finger over his lips in the clear signal for _quiet_ , froze as Rey suddenly twitched and turned over, mumbling to herself. He ran a hand over her hair, adjusting her position, before whipping back around to fix 3PO with a warning snarl and a hushed description of what exactly would happen if the droid did not turn the volume down this second.

“Well I never! That was certainly rather rude of you.” Nevertheless, the droid’s next words were noticeably less blaring. “Anyway, I’m glad to find you and Rey in one place, as what I need to say concerns you both. Or, perhaps _glad_ isn’t the right word to use, as you seem to be gathered because of poor Finn’s ailment. How is he, anyway? He seems not to have gotten worse, which is a relief. I’ll make sure to let Commander Dameron know, he’s been asking after him—“

Chewie told 3PO bluntly to get to the point and the droid dithered. “Yes, right. I was just speaking with Mistress-General Leia, and while she is ready to retire for the evening, she wanted me to ask for you if you would be willing to accompany Rey in the _Falcon_ on a trip tomorrow.”

Anakin tensed. “A trip?” 

“Where’s she sending Rey already?” Han asked.

Chewie had also sat up straighter at this with a questioning grunt.

“She did not specify where,” 3PO continued, “but as R2—“

“ _R2?_ Did he just say—“ Anakin started to demand before Han cut him off with heavy shushing and heavier punches in the arm.

“—be going, it is in my humble opinion that you will be following Luke’s map,” 3PO was saying, and the ghosts only barely heard Chewie’s immediate agreement over their own yelling.

“R2’s awake,” Anakin got out, hardly daring to hope. “He has to be. R2 is _awake_ , holy _shit_.”

“What about the map? What do you mean they’re following it? What does the droid have to do with anything?” Han once again found himself out of the loop and confused, and did not appreciate it when Anakin grabbed his arm and started physically towing him out of the room. “Woah, woah, hey!”

Anakin turned and stared him directly in the eye, barely able to contain his excitement. “R2-D2 has the missing piece of the map,” Anakin said quietly, watching as Han’s eyes widened with the realization. “If he’s awake, we have everything we need to find Luke.”

“We can bring Luke home,” Han said, feeling the first true smile begin to crack its way across his face since he had woken up dead.

_”We can bring Luke home,”_ Anakin repeated, grinning just as widely, face lit up in a way that reminded Han painfully of the man in question.

“Come on,” Anakin told him. “Let’s go say hi,”

Han was so excited, he didn’t even mind when Anakin took his hand again and dragged him away. Okay, he minded a little, especially when Anakin went, “Kark it, it’s taking too long. Hang on,” and dematerialized them both.

“Damn you,” Han gasped, putting both hands on his knees while the nausea faded, but Anakin was already moving away. 

“Come on, where are you?” Anakin murmured, scanning the room— they were in one of the situation rooms, green maps casting a soft glow over the whole space —and _there_.

Off in a corner, leaning back in a chair with his feet propped up on the desk, appearing to be— was he _sewing_ something? — was Poe Dameron. At his feet, warbling excitedly, was BB-8. Across from BB, mostly silent save for an acknowledging whistle to say he was listening, was R2-D2.

“R2!” Anakin was across the room in a heartbeat, crouching down and running his hand over the achingly familiar dome. “You’re awake, stars, you’re awake! I am so happy to see you again, you had me so worried! Force, what did Luke even do to you, and why did you _let_ him, you little asshat? Wait, no, it was probably your idea, R2 _why?_ Didn’t you know we needed you? Nevermind, I’m sorry for yelling, I’m just so happy to have you back, bud.”

Han coughed into his hand behind Anakin, and Anakin looked up, huge smile still on his face and not even caring that his eyes were distinctly wet. “Sorry,” Anakin managed, still stroking his hand over the space above R2’s dome. “It’s just been a while. Nice to see someone come back instead of losing them for once.”

Han quirked a brow. “I didn’t realize you cared that much about him.”

Anakin snorted aloud, then did a double take at the sincerity on Han’s face. “Wait, you’re serious. Luke really never told you?”

Han growled, sensing that he was about to be let into another Skywalker Family Secret. “Look, I never asked Luke about any of the Force shit, so if you all think he should have told me anything, the answer is most likely that we never had that conversation.”

Anakin’s lip quirked upwards. “Fair enough. But yeah, R2 was my droid for the entirety of the Clone Wars. You could say he’s grown on me.”

Han gaped. “No way. No. Leia said R2 served her parents since she was a baby!”

Anakin’s face fell slightly at that. “She was right. After I went Dark, when the twins were being separated, R2 and 3PO were sent to watch over Leia, give Bail and Breha an extra couple of hands in keeping her safe. But before that, R2 was mine.” He paused, eyes going soft. “Well, technically, he was Padmé’s droid, he had served her for however long since before we had even met, but we liked to joke that R2 was her wedding gift to me.” Anakin patted the top of the droid’s head affectionately. “I owe this guy my life several times over.”

“Alright,” Han said. “Fine. I might as well accept that, hells know it’s not the craziest thing I’ve heard. Though why he never said anything about knowing you back when—“

“R2’s no snitch!” Anakin said indignantly. “He knows how to keep a secret. Also, he probably would have electrocuted anyone who tried to wipe his memory like what they did to 3PO.”

Han went very still. “What do you mean,” he spoke slowly, “‘What they did to 3PO’? Are you honestly telling me right now that you knew Captain Obvious back there too?”

“Did I know him? I built him!”

_”You built him?!”_

“There’s no need to shout,” Anakin was honest to gods pouting. “Look, I know I don’t always act the smartest, but I’m actually pretty good with mechanics—“

“‘Good with mechanics’, he says!” Han felt the half-crazed laughter bubbling back up. “Gods, how does every single pain in my ass I’ve ever had in my life somehow manage to be your fault?”

“It’s a talent,” Anakin said. 

“Aaargh!”

“Easy, drama queen.” 

Han once again seemed three steps from trying to punch him, so Anakin hurried along. “I mean it! I know 3PO’s a bit… eccentric, but he tries his best and everyone just picks on him for it.”

“You made him eccentric!”

“I made him when I was—“ Anakin shut his mouth mid-sentence. _Uh oh._

Han was too riled up to notice. “No, seriously, why is he like that?”

“Han?”

That reply didn’t come from Anakin, who Han only now saw had frozen, face pale as a sheet.

Han would know that voice anywhere.

Turning around proved difficult as his legs had decided that now was the perfect time to turn to stone, but Han got there eventually. “Hi, Leia.”

Anakin was going to crouch there next to R2 and pretend he didn’t exist, watching on bated breath as husband and wife reunited once again. Han had transformed back into the old man upon seeing his wife, but his panicked hazel eyes held the same look like he didn’t know whether he wanted to kiss his wife or run away. 

Leia, fingers clenched in the skirts of a new dress, looked like she was about to be sick.

Surprisingly, the one to break the silence was Poe. 

“General Organa!” Anakin winced as Poe swung his feet off the desk and through his head, R2 scooting backwards and bleeping at him to watch his feet. Anakin noticed with a pang that the piece of fabric Poe appeared to have been sewing was the jacket he had given to Finn.

“I’m almost finished with the mission report, ma’am, I just need to do some edits,” Poe reported, attempting to hide the jacket behind his back. He then noticed Leia’s haunted expression. “Ma’am? Is everything alright?”

His voice was carefully soft, and Han winced. The base had to know what had happened to him, but the soldiers should also know by now that Leia hated pity.

Leia’s gaze tore itself away from Han, landing on Poe momentarily before settling on Anakin, who was still at Poe’s feet next to R2. Her eyes shifted from confused loss to pure disgust, lip peeling backwards in a snarl. Her focus snapped back to Poe, and it was all the General speaking. “Nothing is the matter to my knowledge, Commander, unless there is something else I am unaware of?”

Poe straightened. “No, ma’am.”

Leia nodded, eyes flint. “Good. I want that finished report on my datapad in under an hour.”

“Of course.”

She turned sharply on her heel and moved back out of the room, calling over her shoulder. “Oh, and Poe? That stitch pattern won’t work on that type of leather.”

She didn’t spare Han another glance.

Of course he had kriffed it up without even saying a word to her. Shit, he should have said something instead of just standing there and gaping like a moof-milker. Han raced after her. “Wait, Leia!”

Anakin swore under his breath in Huttese, giving R2 one last fond pat and hurrying out of the room after them, hearing Poe muttering behind him. “Wrong stitch? Where… aww, son of a—“

Surprisingly, Han had waited for Anakin to catch up, grabbing his wrist roughly and yanking him along behind him. “C’mon, we have to catch her attention. She won’t listen to me, but she hates you so you need to get up there and piss her off or something. Piss her off more than she already is, blast it.” Han ran a hand over his face. “I screwed that up so bad.”

“Let’s be real, we knew she was going to react badly at first,” Anakin tried to reassure him. “I was just planning on finding her first and easing her into it a little more.”

“How did she find us first?” Han bemoaned. “She doesn’t talk to ghosts.”

“Yeah, but she talks— uh, talked —to you; she probably sensed your presence,” Anakin said. “She’s definitely strong enough to.”

“Well now she’s rejecting my presence!” Han yelled. “How am I going to tell her anything now?” He gestured wildly to up ahead of them where Leia was stalking down the corridors, projecting an aura similar to a thorny barrier that caused everyone in her path to jump out of the way.

“Han, if Leia didn’t want to speak with us, she’d let you know it,” Anakin told him. “Remember what I told you about being bounced to the other side of the planet?”

“But—“ Han’s face was pure misery, and Anakin sympathized with him completely.

“This is the closest I’ve ever been to her with her shields partially down like this,” Anakin explained. “And, she hasn’t ran away, she’s letting us keep up. She’s going to talk to us, she’s just getting some privacy.”

“Me,” Han said suddenly, spurred on by the awakened hope that he could still salvage this. “She is going to talk to _me_ , not us. I don’t need you in there messing things up.”

_Ouch._ “That’s fair,” Anakin agreed. _Still hurts, though…_

The path Leia was taking them on seemed to steer directly for the officers’ quarters, and sure enough, eventually they stopped outside the door that led to Leia’s personal quarters. A jab of the Force and she had the doors sliding open on their own, marching in like she was ready to do battle.

Anakin took a step back and kicked Han in the back through the doors that closed near immediately on his angry spitting. He didn’t even have time to start loitering awkwardly outside the door before it opened again, Leia’s death glare sticking out of it. She snapped her fingers at him. “You. Inside. Now.”

Anakin didn’t make her say it twice.

Once inside, he immediately felt the air convulse around him. The standard military bed and the dresser across from it were shaking violently. Leia was fixing him with a look of pure rage. “This is low, even for you,” she spat.

Anakin did his best to project a calming aura. “I can explain.”

Han tried. “Leia—“

She waved a hand at him. “Shut up.” Han realized in horror that he couldn’t speak.

Leia returned her focus to Anakin. “Haven’t you done enough?” she started lowly. “You’ve done it. You have successfully taken _everything_ away. Isn’t that enough for you?”

Anakin raised his hands against her rising voice. “If you’d just let me—“

_”Why are you mocking me?”_ Leia roared.

The mirror cracked.

Anakin did not understand “How am I mocking—“

“Oh don’t. _Don’t._ ” There was a tremor in Leia’s words that matched the shaking of the items in the room. She pointed a finger at Han, who winced as another wave of energy slammed into him. “I don’t know what that thing is, or what you intended for it. I’ll give you this, it is very accurate. But, you have approximately five seconds to take it and get out of my sight before I kill it.”

“Leia, it’s _me!_ ” Han yelled, breaking through whatever barrier had stolen his voice.

“No it isn’t!” Leia screamed back, and Han staggered from the weight of it. She whirled on Anakin, breathing heavily and eyes suspiciously bright. “No. It isn’t. I’m not an idiot, _Vader_. I know the Force. Han wasn’t anywhere near Sensitive enough to follow the Whills, and we both know it. So I would appreciate if you stop whatever twisted little game you’re playing, and go before I kill whatever that thing is _and_ you.” A bit of her fire seemed to drain out upon the last word, and she slumped slightly. She looked old. “I don’t know what you want from me, but I have nothing left to give.”

Anakin was at a complete loss of anything to say in response that wasn’t, “But it _is_ Han, Leia. And, and I think you know that,” he added as Leia flared back up again.

Her laugh was a cruel sound, the scrape of a rusty blade. “What, and you know me well enough to know what I think? Go away.”

“No, but I know you tracked us down because you sensed Han, your husband, was here,” Anakin told her. 

“Like I said, you did a good job mimicking him,” Leia retorted. “I hope you found my reaction amusing—“

In his frustration, Anakin cut her off for the first time. “You know the Force, but you don’t know that it is literally impossible for me to replicate a Force signature? I’d need his body—“

“Enough.”

“—and I’d need to be alive!”

“How am I supposed to trust what you can do and what you can’t?” Leia hissed. “No one knew what you could do, you were so powerful, and that is why everyone was afraid of you! Why should you being dead change anything?”

“Why would I _want_ to give you some sort of Fake Han?” Anakin countered. “Be honest with me; when since I died have I done anything but leave you alone?”

“Oh, you must have been so lonely,” Leia mocked.

“I wasn’t! I had three other spirits with me, none of whom would be anywhere near okay with me going ‘Hey! Let’s torture Leia with a fake of her dead hus—‘“

The mirror shattered. “Be quiet!” Leia shouted, face twisted in pain and grief. 

“Not until you can see I’m not lying,” Anakin begged. Force, why did he make every situation he touched worse? 

“I don’t have to see jackshit—“

“Leia.” Han was hovering behind her, hand reaching for her shoulder. Leia flew to the other side of the room, hand moving to the pocket in her dress where her blaster was.

“Don’t touch me. Stay away.”

“Leia, you gotta believe me, he’s—“ Han grimaced as if sucking on a lemonberry. “He’s telling the truth.”

Leia glowered at Anakin. “Right, because that sounds like something Han would say.”

“I say stupid stuff all the time!” Han protested, starting to take another step forward, stopping when Leia tensed like a cornered animal. “Look, I’ll prove it to you, it’s really me!”

“It’s not,” Leia insisted, but she was looking at him now.

“It is me, because I know things that he doesn’t.”

“Don’t. I’m not listening”

“Well I’m talking anyway, and if you really want to shut me up, you know how.” Han raised his eyebrows at the end, flashing her a wink. 

Leia responded with a look that could freeze molten metal and with drawing her blaster to set it on the table.

“Heh. Right.” Han scrambled his brain, searching desperately for things that he and Leia would know that Anakin didn’t. “Got it!” He snapped his fingers. “I ran into 3PO recently, brought up tons of fun memories. One that comes to mind is that time on Endor, remember that? The little fuzzy demons were going to eat Luke, Chewie, and I, and Luke helped trick them into thinking that Mr. Shiny was some sort of god. That was fun.”

Leia’s mask didn’t as much as chip. “Luke could have easily told his ghost that.”

Anakin couldn’t help it. “But still, why would I want to even—“

“Shut up!” husband and wife snapped in unison, neither breaking eye contact with the other.

“Alright,” Han said, taking another cautious step forwards. “Nothing Luke could have told him, okay.” He paused, racking his brains. Gods, did he wish that Luke was here with them _now,_ he’d know what to do, how to get through to his sister. He certainly wouldn’t be making such a bleeding mess of everything like her useless husband was.

_C’mon, Solo, think!_ Just then, the perfect memory came to mind, though recent events made it painful to bring up. “When you were pregnant, and we were picking out names for the baby—“

Leia made a choked off noise that sounded halfway between a growl and a sob.

“—we had said,” Han continued, “that if it was a girl, we would have named her Jaina. After my mother. Luke never knew that, we didn’t give anyone any names until Ben was actually born.”

Leia’s jaw quivered momentarily before resetting. “No. _He_ was still floating around. He could have heard us mention it at some point.”

“I wasn’t—“ Anakin tried.

Leia threw a datapad through his head.

Han sighed. Leia was within touching distance now, but when he moved forward another step, she flinched. “I still can’t believe you.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Han told her desperately, and Leia’s face started to harden again. “No, no, no wait! Hang on, I’ll get it. So nothing he could have seen after he died, or could have heard from someone else. Give me a second.”

“I think it’s time for you to go,” Leia rasped.

“No, no, I have it! I have it! Remember, I was talking about 3PO?”

“I’m ending this.”

“He interrupted!” Han blurted out. “Our first kiss, on the _Falcon_ , he interrupted and you ran off, and I was so happy I had finally kissed you I wasn’t even mad at him. Not that mad, anyway.”

Leia went still as ice, the only noise in the cabin her labored breathing and the broken shards of glass on the floor tinkling as they vibrated. 

“I know you remember that,” Han said. “I don’t think it was that bad a kiss.”

Leia was shaking her head. “No.”

“Yes, you do. It was when we were on the run after escaping Hoth, I flew us into that giant space worm’s mouth on that asteroid—“

_”Stop it.”_

“—and you were even a little impressed by it.”

“No. _No._ ”

“ _Yes,_ princess.” Han reached out his hand. “It happened, and we’re the only ones who remembered it. We never told Luke, and that sleemo—“ Han jerked his head in the direction of where Anakin had been subtly trying to melt into the wall, “—wasn’t anywhere near us to see it; he was too busy trying and failing to catch us in that big fuckoff Star Destroyer of his.”

“3PO was there,” Leia started, still recoiling from Han’s spectral touch.

“Yeah, and so was Chewie, and that’s irrelevant. You’re avoiding,” Han insisted, refusing to retreat this time. He let his fingers ghost over the space where Leia’s cheek was. A single tear slipped past his fingertips. “You know me, Leia. You can feel that I’m real.”

“I felt you die,” Leia told him roughly. “I felt you leave. You left. It’s not, you can’t— I’m just seeing things. Grief’s making me crazy.”  
“You’ve always been crazy,” Han teased her lightly. “And I’m crazy about you, always have been. So crazy I couldn’t just screw up and run away again. I’m really here.”

Watery brown eyes met glowing hazel. “It’s impossible.”

“Believe it, sweetheart. It’s really me— and I am so sorry I left you.”

“You promised—“ Leia said, cutting herself off halfway with one hand going to cover her face. The other one raised up ever so slowly, moving on instinct to cover the place where Han’s heart had been. Han just floated there, feeling himself choking up too and unable to say anything more. 

Amidst all of this, Anakin gathered up the one speck of tact that resided in his body and hesitantly slipped through the closed doors, raising his mental barriers for privacy leaving the pair to have a much-needed conversation to themselves.

It could have been minutes or hours or days when Leia’s doors slid open again, the woman in question stepping out with perfectly immaculate hair and dress, chin lifted like a queen, only the red tinge to her cheeks and eyes— and her Force shields shot to shreds, bleeding emotion all over the place —giving away any sense of something being wrong. At her side was Han, ghostly hand wrapped around her fingers that Anakin took delight in noticing had figured out how to hold his back.

“You good?” Anakin asked Han, trying not to aggravate Leia any further.

Han gave him the barest of nods before Leia was fixing him with a glare anyway. “Han and I have talked things through,” she informed Anakin. “I believe he’s who he says he is, but that leads to why he’s here. He couldn’t give much of an explanation beyond saying that apparently you broke some metaphysical rules, meddled with his dying soul, and turned him into a ghost yourself? And the other spirits are fine with this?”

Anakin took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought Han was in any sort of danger from it.” _Not a complete lie,_ he reasoned to himself. _I didn’t think he was in any sort of danger. I didn’t think at all._ “Also yes, the other masters have accepted Han being there. He can watch over things just like we can now.”

Leia’s eyes held him in place like a tractor beam. “Fine. Now tell me why you did it.”

Anakin began. “Because—“

“Because if you expect anything out of me from this, if you expect me to feel indebted to you, you have another thing coming,” Leia threatened. “I’ll send Han right onwards myself.”

“Hang on a minute,” Han yelped. 

Leia spared him the quickest look, squeezing his fingers tighter. “You won’t be a bargaining piece. I won’t let him use you against me.”

“Honey, that’s sweet, but—“

“There is no catch!” Anakin cried. “Leia, I _promise_ you. I don’t want anything, I expect nothing from you. It was just the right thing to do! For you and for Luke.” He almost added, _And for Ben,_ but he figured he had already pushed Leia far enough.

“Luke didn’t ask you to do this?” she asked.

Anakin shook his head no. “Luke doesn’t talk to me anymore. No one told me what to do.”

Anakin watched Leia’s lips purse as she forced herself to ignore the bit about Luke. “So this was out of the goodness of your heart, then?”

He jerked his shoulders. “Whatever’s left of it, yes. You didn’t deserve to lose him too.”

Brown eyes went to simmering coals of fury. “And who’s fault was it that I lost everything else?”

Anakin forced himself to meet her stare. “I know.”

“Then you should know that this—“ Leia poked her finger between herself, Han, and Anakin in a jagged circle. “Changes nothing between us. Nothing. You’re still nothing to me. Understood?”

Anakin swallowed back the rock that caught in his throat. “I understand,” he whispered. She was treating him more than how he deserved.

Han shifted uncomfortably beside his wife, and she turned to face him, eyes softening near-immediately. “Will you be sticking around?”

“Yes,” Han answered her immediately, only to backpedal awkwardly when Anakin coughed out something that sounded like _”connection”_. “Uh, actually…”

Leia followed where Han was looking, and Anakin really hadn’t thought her stare could get any more murderous. _”What.”_

Anakin decided to just rip the bandage straight off. “There’s a bit of a tether between Han and I since I used some of my own energy to bring him through the veil. We’re working on how to break it, I promise!” he said quickly as the air around Leia began to buzz dangerously.

Her spine grew less tense as she exhaled, and Anakin could feel her releasing some of the pent up fire into the Force. He felt slightly reassured at that; unlike him, she had never let the temper she had inherited control her completely. 

“Okay,” Leia told Han. “Where are these guys keeping you?”

“Some island in an ocean,” Han responding him, excitement flashing through him like lightning upon realization. “Leia! _Luke_ lives there! I can figure out the planet and tell you—“

“We have the map now, Han, it’s alright,” Leia assured him, soft smile on his face. 

Han responded with a goofy one of his own. “Right. I forgot.” Something else occurred to him then, and he rounded on Anakin. “Wait a minute. If you and the other ghosts knew where he was the entire time, why didn’t you tell Leia?”

“We did,” Anakin said at the same time as Leia begrudgingly bit out, “They did.” 

Han blinked, once again confused. “Wait, what? Then why—?”

“They told me the planet Ahch-To, where the first Jedi temple was,” Leia explained. She threw another— Anakin felt this one was rather undeserved —glare in the direction of the other ghost. “Ahch-To is also supposed to be a myth, not on any known star charts, and thought either to have been destroyed or not to exist anymore. They did not offer directions.” 

Han was incredulous, teaming up with Leia with a glare of his own at Anakin. “So what you’re telling me is, you can mess with the powers of life and death themselves, but you can’t conjure up a fucking _map?_ ”

Anakin bristled up in defence. “Hey! Ghosts can’t do hyperspeed, alright? Ahch-To’s on the furthest edge of the Unknown Regions; it’s harder to find than Lira-San! It would have taken us centuries to manually visit every planet in between and chart a course from there and back to civilization.”

“But you popped us right there from Starkiller and here from there!” Han accused.

Anakin huffed. “Yeah, if we know it exists, we can take a direct shortcut through the Force to get there. Doesn’t mean we automatically know the long way around for those who aren’t dead.”

Leia’s voice was cold. “Forgive me for thinking you didn’t try hard enough.”

“Yeah, I bet I could have found it, no problem,” Han chimed in. Tensing at this, he turned to Leia. “Hang on. Why didn’t you give me the name? I spent years searching for anything on the ‘first Jedi temple’, I could have done so much more with a name.”

Leia’s eyes flashed with pain. “I didn’t want to give you false hope; I barely believed what they were feeding me myself.”

Han’s voice was strained. “You still should have told me.”

Leia’s mouth thinned to a line. “You had left. How was I supposed to know how hard you were looking?”

Han reeled backwards, mouth opening and closing, having absolutely no defence for what she had said but still feeling impossibly hurt. Regret was written clear on Leia’s face as well, but she wasn’t taking it back.

Knowing he was jumping into a rancor’s nest, Anakin dared speak up. “Well, I can take Han to see Luke right now, maybe his old friend is just what he needs to speak to us? Then you can see him too when you come out to bring him back, Leia.”

Both Han and Leia’s faces drooped at this, and Anakin knew the answer even as Han offered his wife a wistful look. They must have already discussed this. “Leia, you’re not coming to find Luke.” Anakin said it as a statement, not a question.

The reluctance dripped out of every timbre of Leia’s next words as she spoke. “I am the leader of the Resistance. The First Order knows where we are, and is undoubtedly planning a retaliatory attack for Starkiller as we speak. I cannot in good conscience leave them, not for a moment.” Her voice broke. “No matter what the reason may be.”

Anakin couldn’t help it. “But… you’re his _sister._ ”

“That’s what I said,” Han muttered to himself.

Leia’s eyes flashed. “Yes, and aren’t you his father? How much luck have you had?”

Anakin found he had no response to that. 

“You never cut his hand off, though,” Han pointed out, and Anakin had to admit that was a valid argument.

Leia turned on Han with an exasperated sort of fondness. “Quiet, you. I am sending the _Falcon_ , two of his oldest friends in Chewbacca and R2, and a nineteen year old from the desert with his family lightsaber who has engaged with and is being hunted by our son and who needs his help. With luck, maybe he’ll talk to you. If none of that can convince him…” Leia’s façade wavered once again, and Anakin caught a glimpse of the weary old woman underneath. “Then… then my brother is already dead, and we are truly alone.”

Anakin sucked in a breath as Han’s jaw jutted out stubbornly. “It won’t come to that,” he promised Leia, stroking her hair. “I’ll hop back into the living world and drag him home myself if I have to.” 

“R2 might beat you to it, Han,” Anakin offered, and to his delight he actually got a snort out of Han and the barest of lip quirks from Leia before her face shadowed at the sight of him again. 

“Go introduce him to Luke,” she ordered Anakin. “See if Han can manage to soften him up a bit before Rey gets there.”

Anakin nodded, recognizing the dismissal. Leia had obviously had enough of him today. “Of course.”

Leia shot a longing glance at her husband that was eagerly returned, and the uncomfortable memory from long ago prickled at the back of Anakin’s mind, of them sharing a similar look right before Vader had frozen Han in carbonite. Oops.

“You’ll come back?” Leia murmured. 

“You’ll have to keep me away,” Han assured her, giving her the ghost of his crooked smirk. 

Leia hummed, nodding to herself and straightening her shoulders before lifting up on her toes to place a kiss on Han’s mouth. Han leaned into it for the barest moment, shutting his eyes and a true smile spreading its way across his face. 

Leia pulled away, squeezing his hands before shoving him lightly at Anakin. She gave him one last warning look. “You. I’ll let you off this time, but if you mess with my family’s souls again, I will kill you.”

Anakin bowed respectfully in her direction in lieu of response, because in all honesty, that was one promise he could not make to her.

The divot in Leia’s brow deepened, but she turned around and made her way back through her doors, shooting a last soft smile over her shoulder at Han. Han waved back, forcing himself not to run after her.

_There will be a next time. You won’t be leaving her again._

The doors hissed closed, and Anakin was about to ask Han if he wanted to leave yet, when they reopened, Leia’s styled head poking out. “Anakin.”

Anakin was so shocked at the usage of his real name he fell halfway through the floor. Han snickered.

At first glance, Leia looked if she were almost choking on something and Anakin was seconds away from asking her what was wrong, but then she finally managed to spit out what seemed to be caught in her throat. “Thank you.”

Anakin didn’t even have a chance to respond before the woman that could have been his daughter was disappearing back through the doors that seemed to shut more violently than usual.

Still waist-deep in the ground, Anakin stared unblinkingly off into nowhere. “That went much better than I expected.” His voice still was about an octave or two higher.

“She still hates you,” Han reminded him. “She has every right to.”

“She does,” Anakin agreed. “I’ve never blamed her.”

_I hate me too._

Han didn’t say anything to this, the pair of them loitering in the empty hallway in silence for a moment before Han sighed and stuck a hand in Anakin’s face. “I’m not thanking you for doing something nice for her for once, and I still hate you too, but. I’m glad I can see her again.”

Anakin took the olive branch for what it was and accepted the hand pulling him back up through the floor. “Yeah, well…”

They stood there for a moment more before Han ventured, because why the kark not? “When did you decide you wanted to love her instead of hate her? You had to know you’d never be her father after all you did, was it the guilt?”

Anakin’s shoulders stiffened, and Han had the slightest fear of being strangled, Vader-style, for pushing, but then Anakin let out a deep breath and met him with solemn blue eyes. “I never hated her. I loved Leia, loved Luke from the moment I could feel them inside their mother. We didn’t know there were twins, but I just had this feeling that I was going to have a daughter.”

Seeing the pure love on Anakin’s face at this combined with the knowledge of what he had become set off every wrong nerve in Han’s body, but he held his tongue as Anakin continued.

“I tried to protect my family by giving them the galaxy.” Anakin's face shuttered. “In my stupidity, I burnt it down capturing it. Then I panicked and ended up burning them too. Padmé, Obi Wan, the baby, everyone I ever loved. When it was over, I had nothing, and it was all my fault. I hated the galaxy, hated my life, hated living, and I decided that anyone who got any joy out of the universe was a blind idiot, so I took it upon myself to correct them.” 

Already horrified, Han felt another shiver run up his spine at the sight of what looked like scarred flesh ripple its way across Anakin’s face before vanishing. Anakin, haunted gaze fixed on some distant, terrible memory, didn’t seem to notice a thing. 

“When I met Leia, I didn’t hate her, or, I didn’t hate her any more than I hated the average population. Or, not much more. Maybe I hated her a little more because she was Force sensitive and she reminded me of her mother, and I was stupid enough not to realize what that meant. Anyway, to me she was just another starry-eyed fool who hadn’t realized that life was pain and thought the galaxy was actually worth saving. So I did my job. It’s not an excuse, but that’s what happened. Nothing changed until I found out about Luke. 

“I won’t go into detail about how Luke completely turned my sad existence around, but long story short, he made me realize that there might be some good in the universe, that what was left should be protected. He made me realize there might be some good in _me_ , that I loved my son and I didn’t want to make that feeling go away. I didn’t even realize that I had a daughter as well until right before I died; it was obvious upon realization who she was and I didn’t let myself think any further on it besides her being important to Luke. When I killed Sidious, it was because I finally trusted that Luke’s light was what the galaxy needed to fix itself, and maybe I had enough light, enough love, left in me to help him. I died knowing that it had helped my daughter too, and that I was glad she was alive.

“Once I was dead, I came back around to loving the idea of my daughter, loving those I hadn’t allowed myself to love before like Luke and Obi Wan. I needed some time to relearn how to love the rest of the galaxy, though. I spent about the first three years traveling around on my own, learning how to really immerse myself in the Force, watching life grow on planet after planet, forcing myself to really see the people on them living their lives, finally remembering why at one point I had wanted to be a Jedi, why I had wanted to protect them. I watched Leia too, during that first year, because I didn’t want to just love the idea of a daughter. I wanted to actually love Leia as Leia.”

Han was about to call him out for spying, but Anakin didn’t let him get a word in. “I kept my distance, and I never intruded on anything private. Of course I was guilty about everything, but I enjoyed learning about her, who she was as a person, as I saw just how bright she was. The moment I knew I loved her was actually when Ben was born and she called me to her to tell me to stay away.”

Han made a noise of surprise and Anakin nodded. “I’m serious. Just, that moment I saw how bright she was burning with protection and love, I knew I couldn’t be prouder of her, and that no matter what she ever thought of me, I would always love her.”

Once again upon finishing his story, Anakin tucked his head in and seemed to retreat in on himself, unwilling to meet Han’s eyes. 

Han took a moment to process, to actually think every word Anakin had said over. Eventually, he had managed to untangle the massive, complicated knot of emotions and history behind it and wrapped it up in a way he could accept. He reached out and put a fist against Anakin’s shoulder. “I still hate you. Part of me always will. But, I understand that your life was kriffed up beyond measure, and I’m sorry you’re a sad bastard.”

“That’s okay, I’m used to it,” Anakin said.

Han gave him a weird look. _Truly sad bastard. A very depressing individual. Yikes._ He stared at the grey paneling on the walls, uncertain on how to respond to that. Kark it, things were so much simpler when he was just punching Anakin in the face.

_Wait a minute._

Han had an awful idea, one that had every possibility of backfiring catastrophically. 

_Better go for it._ “Hey, I know something that would make you a little less of a sad bastard.”

“Sounds cool.”

“Oh it is. You were a pain in my ass, so in retribution, you need to teach me how to punch Snoke in the face.”

Anakin’s hearing must have failed him. “Uh, repeat that?”

“I want to fight Snoke,” Han told him. “I promised Leia I’d get Ben back. I want to kick his ass and save my son. I could hold Leia’s hand back there. I can touch the living, and I’ve seen you guys move shit, so I totally can do it.”

Anakin wilted in the face of his enthusiasm. “You’d need to step in line, I’ve already tried that. He has too much Dark energy; if you’re made of Light like us ghosts are, it’s near impossible to actually touch him. Also, we didn’t lie, it takes tons of time to master manipulating the Force in the spiritual realm and we all spent our entire lives learning to master it. Hells, for Yoda that means almost a millennium.”

Han was not deterred. “Nope, still calling shavit. I’ve spent a good part of _my_ life watching everyone else I know do Force stuff, I’m sure I’ll pick it up in no time.”

Anakin averted his eyes. “Oh boy…”

“Also, everyone said what you did ghosting me was impossible too. This isn’t gonna be another ‘Oh I’m too lazy to make a damn map’—“

“We were not being lazy—!”

“No, you are going to help me and I _will_ be knocking that steaming pile of shit into the next century.”

“Han, I _can’t—_ ”

Han’s eyes glittered dangerously. “Too bad. Figure something out. I at least plan to be there the next time Snoke attacks so all the Force ghosts aren’t conveniently ‘out’.”

Anakin took a very, very deep breath in, trying to use all his newfound ghostly peace and serenity to take a step back, relax, and not completely flip his lid. “Han. There was a reason none of us were at Luke’s temple the night Ben Fell. We shouldn’t have fallen for the trick Snoke played, but that was why we weren’t there.”

Han gave an unimpressed scoff. “Oh, really? I’d love to hear this.”

Anakin let a tiny sliver of his temper loose. “It was the Emperor,” he spat out.  
Han went white as a sheet. “No…”

Anakin forcibly reined himself back in. “It was a false alarm, don’t worry, but for the first time in thirty years I felt a disturbance in the Force that was way too close to Sidious, and I couldn’t risk it. Neither could anyone else, so we all went to investigate.” Even now, he could feel that near-paralyzing fear that had almost overtaken him when the old whispers had dragged down his spine like a rusty nail. “We ended up on the other side of the galaxy, and none of us noticed anything else was wrong until we had finally managed to lift the Dark fog and I could feel Luke screaming. Then we knew it was a play and we had fallen for it. We ran back, but it was too late.”

“Old Palpy is _dead,_ ” Han snapped. “You are literally the man who killed him, and you fell for some false alarm?”

Anakin gave him a look so cold it practically cut through him. “That’s the thing about Sith Lords, Han. They have a nasty habit of refusing to stay dead when you kill them. We had to be sure.”

Cool. Han was going to ignore and Not Think About absolutely everything he had just said. “Well for all purposes now, I’m gonna classify him as dead and out of the way. How about this, I’ll protect you. If he shows his wrinkled old face too, I’ll kick his ass and Snoke’s, Does that work?”

Anakin let out a high-pitched giggle. 

Han raised a brow. “That a yes? Perfect.”

“Wait, wait, no! Don’t you want to ask one of the other Masters, you know, anyone who’s not me? You don’t even like me!”

“It’s not that I don’t like you, I just really hate you. There’s a difference. Thing is, I hate Snoke even more, and the enemy of my enemy I will hold my nose around. Trust me, I’d rather ask Baby Bat Ears over you, but you’re the only one I’ve seen doing the super tricky stuff and I need to know all I can.”

Anakin snorted. “Yoda was the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, is old as hells, and I’m fairly sure he knows how to blow things up with lightning. I’m sure if you pestered him into it, he’d teach you just fine.” Han’s expression grew considering at the mention of the lightning and for a second Anakin was sure he had him, but then Han shook his head and refocused on him. 

“No. It has to be you. Trust me, I’m not happy about this either.”

Leftover weariness from ripping a hole in the mortal veil could be the only explanation for why Anakin yielded so quickly. “I’m not the best teacher.”

Han gave a cheeky shrug. “I’m an awful student. This’ll be great.”

“This will be a disaster.”

The Force sparked up then with a familiar presence, and Anakin turned happily to meet Obi Wan as he stepped out of a pocket of Void. “Hey, you!”

Han had leaped nearly out of his skin. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Anakin gave him a crooked grin. “I guess our first lesson is going to be sensing them coming.”

Han squared his shoulders. “Bring it, nerfherder.”

Obi Wan fixed Anakin with a questioning brow. “Do I want to know?”

“Han wants to punch Snoke in the face so I’m teaching him how to do Force things,” Anakin told him.

Obi Wan’s eyes slid over to Han, gaze unreadable. Han straightened up, feeling like a ship in for inspection. “Good luck with that,” Obi Wan said eventually.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Han demanded.

“Don’t worry about it,” Obi Wan soothed and Han bristled further, but the Jedi Master was already moving on. “I went to go see the First Order while you two were gone.”

Both of the other ghosts tensed. “Ben?” they chorused.

“He’s already up and moving,” Obi Wan reported. Han closed his eyes as a strange sort of guilty relief washed over him, Anakin shifting nervously and not knowing how to feel about this at all. He would be happy his grandson was not dead, he decided. It could be left at that.

“He seems to be bouncing back rather quickly from the bodily wounds,” Obi Wan recalled. “However, that slash on his face looks like it will leave a noticeable scar.” He drew a diagonal line across his face to emphasize.

Anakin, filterless as usual, ran a finger down his own facial scar and said, “Well, he wanted to be more like me…”

“No.” Han pointed a finger at him, baring his teeth. “Don’t say that.”

Anakin raised his hands. “Sorry, sorry.”

Han let the finger hang accusingly for a moment longer before pointing at a line on his own chin. “If anything, he’s more like me. I got this one from an angry woman too.” He was met with two questioning eyebrows so he elaborated. “Bar fight on some planet or another. And I was winning— before the barmaid stepped in and cracked me across the face with a beer bottle.” He nodded at Anakin. “How’d you get yours?”

“Well,” Obi Wan began, beginnings of a shit-eating grin popping up on his face. 

Anakin whirled on him. _”Don’t you dare.”_

Obi Wan blinked innocently at Anakin. “Oh, but he told us how he got his, Anakin. It’s only fair.”

“No,” Anakin said vehemently. “He’s got to know me for longer than a day to get that story.”

“Counterpoint,” Han said. “I get that story now because you owe me retribution.”

“I thought me teaching you how to punch Snoke was your retribution.”

“You’ve done a lot of shit. I get both as my retribution if I want it.”

Anakin growled. “Fine. So I was patrolling in a speeder when we crashed it. Into a wampa. The rest of my squad got eaten, but the wampa took out a lightsaber and gave me this scar.”

“Oh, the wampa story,” Obi Wan commented. “Haven’t heard him use that one in a while.” 

Han deadpanned. “You kidding me?”

Anakin smiled widely at him. “You wanted the story!”

“I will find out the truth,” Han vowed. 

Anakin decided to reroute the conversation entirely. “Hey, Obi Wan, didn’t you come here to tell us something? About Ben?”

“Ah,” Obi Wan’s face fell. “Yes. I was wondering if you two had spoken to Leia yet.”

“We did,” Anakin answered, voice urgent. “Should we have told her something? Is something wrong?”

“Only that General Hux has been amassing their entire main fleet “ Obi Wan replied. “It doesn’t take much foresight to see where they intend to send it.”

“It can’t be that much though,” Han said. “Weren’t most of them on Starkiller when it went down?” 

Anakin and Obi Wan shared a glance. “Starkiller only really had TIEs and shuttles,” Anakin told him. “Their big ships couldn’t fit there.”

“Yes, unfortunately the fact is that while destroying Starkiller did take out their ultimate weapon as well as the majority of their standing army, their entire navy is still quite operational,” Obi Wan added. 

“The navy’s got new tech I don’t know and don’t like,” Anakin added. “This feels like it could get bad.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Obi Wan said. “Which is why I figured I would give Leia some warning.”

“She was already planning a full-base evac,” Han put in. “I’m not exactly sure if she wants to see any more ghosts today.”

“I’ll just be quick,” Obi Wan promised. “I don’t bother her as much as Anakin here does.”

“Fair,” Anakin said. “I’m going to head back, try and get Luke’s attention if that’s fine with you. He might need to start pulling his head out of the sand once he hears about his visitors.”

“Visitors…” Obi Wan’s eyes went wide. “Don’ tell me they woke up R2.”

Anakin grabbed his shoulders and shook him excitedly. “They woke up R2!” 

A bright, happy smile made its way across Obi Wan’s face. “Thank the stars.” He squeezed Anakin’s hands on his shoulders. “See? Things may be looking up for us.”

“Don’t jinx us, Master, I don’t want any more bad feelings,” Anakin warned playfully, smiling just as openly.

“I think it’s quite time we had a little hope again,” Obi Wan retorted. He held on to Anakin’s hands a little longer before lightly pushing him off of him. “Now go, you. Pester your offspring.”

Anakin saluted. “Can do! You coming, Han?”

“Do I have a choice?” Han snarked.

Anakin winced. “Right, sorry.” He held out his hand, holding back a sigh when once again Han grasped a single finger, his thumb this time.

_At least it’s still the metal one, he can’t dislocate it or anything…_

“Good luck with Leia, Master,” he told Obi Wan, leaning back into the Force and feeling it sweep him and his passenger away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter got too long _again,_ and I had to split it _again,_ but I'm way too damn excited to put off posting the final one, so that's going up right after this one! Leave a comment here if you wanted to mention something in particular, or just roll right on to the next chap to see the end! :D :D :D :D


	22. Hello There!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of the LAST CHAPTER WOOOO I will now plug my Tumblr handles in case y'all wanna yell at me about SW stuff:
> 
> Star Wars central: @twilightofthe
> 
> Disaster Personal: @magic-owl
> 
> *****rewrote and edited this chapter

Two days later, Han Solo stood on a cliff on the edge of Ahch-To, blinded by sunlight and more than a little bit Done with the entire situation. 

“Now where am I?” came the voice of the ex-Sith estranged-father-in-law hovering somewhere behind him.

“Breathing down my neck,” Han snapped back. “Give me some more time, you just moved.” Anakin suddenly popped into the space in front of him and Han startled himself up about twenty feet into the air again. “Stop _doing_ that!”

“Should have sensed me coming,” Anakin tutted. “And hey, you had your eyes open. That’s cheating.”

“I am listening as hard as I can!” Han said pissily. “How do I get down again?”

“As I’ve said before, you’re not supposed to listen, you’re supposed to _feel_ ,” Anakin called up to him. “You got yourself down last time, you can get yourself down now.” 

Han kicked his legs out in frustration. “I can feel you being a pain in my ass, doesn’t that work? If you’re not even touching me, I don’t get how I’m supposed to _feel_ where you are. And I fell down last time!”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Like I also said before, you need to use the Force as your imaginary feelers. You can reach out and sense everyone around you with it. Just fall again.”

“I’m not a centipede, I don’t have feelers, and I don’t know how to use the Force to grow them!” Han hissed, contradicting himself. “I don’t _want_ to fall this time!”

Anakin was holding himself back from summoning a hard drink by a thread. “You need to be able to connect with the Force first. Don’t be such a baby, the fall didn’t hurt you last time.”

“When you tried to teach me the whole ‘connect with the Force’ bit you went solar and blinded me,” Han reminded him. “I fell partway through the planet last time, it was like being buried alive! I’m not doing that again.”

Anakin muttered several choice curse words under his breath. “I had warned you that trying to meditate with me might be a bit overwhelming. If you’d just try it with one of the other Masters—“

“No!”

Anakin threw his hands up into the air. “Then we need to figure out how you can reach out and feel things on your own! If you can use the Force to feel me behind you, that’s exactly how you’ll be able to start sensing people coming in. Just drop, I’ll catch you!”

Han was tired of telling him that wasn’t working, choosing to focus on the second half of the argument. “I am not falling into your arms like some helpless damsel.”

“Then start thinking of the ground and imagine a rope pulling you back down to it,” Anakin suggested, pinching the bridge of his nose. A soft chuckle came from beside him and he wheeled around to glower at Obi Wan, who was lounging sprawled across the grass, observing the entire thing and offering exactly zero help whatsoever. “Enjoying yourself?”

Obi Wan’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, immensely. Are you?”

“Fuck off.”

“Eloquent.”

Anakin crossed his arms. “You know, you could jump in at any point.”

Obi Wan smiled pleasantly up at him, sending him a teasing poke in the Force. “Oh, stop pouting. You were the one who agreed to teach him.”

Anakin sputtered. “What was I supposed to tell him? ‘No’? I froze the guy in carbonite, I basically owe him my firstborn!”

“He already has your firstborn,” Obi Wan pointed out, to which Anakin gave an exasperated growl. “No wait, actually not, technically speaking. Luke was born a couple minutes before her.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Yes, I do know, and I think it is a good thing you’re trying to offer him some of his autonomy back.”

“Thank you,” Anakin huffed. “Though I’m sensing a ‘but’.”

Obi Wan sighed. “ _But,_ I am simply uncertain if you promised him too much. Han absolutely deserves to be able to make his way around without having to rely on one of us, you in particular— no offense —but I don’t know how much you will be able to accomplish with him. I understand the Order might have had the wrong idea on how young you needed to be to start training, but Han is in his _seventies_ , and he isn’t even particularly strong in—“

Something hard hit Anakin in the back of the head. “Ow, hey!” He picked up the offending object, discovering a plain black boot.

A voice called from above them. “O Exalted Robed Ones!”

Obi Wan and Anakin looked upwards in unison, and Anakin had to near immediately clap a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. 

Han seemed to have taken the “invisible rope” suggestion literally, making hand over handed pulling motions towards the ground, and surprisingly, actually slowly tugging his way back towards the earth. He was missing his left boot. 

“Once I get down there, it’s over for you!” Han yelled.

Anakin turned back to Obi Wan smugly. “You were saying?”

Obi Wan stroked his beard pensively, watching Han scoot his way downwards. “I’d be more than happy if you two prove me wrong.”

Anakin’s mouth twitched. “Wanna bet?”

Obi Wan sent a stronger prod at him through the Force. “No, I do not want to bet against Han succeeding, that’s horrible!”

Anakin threw Han’s boot at him. “Coward.”

Obi Wan caught the boot before it could hit his face, but before he could properly show Anakin how to really throw a shoe at someone, Han’s voice sounded again, and this time the urgency in it had them both on edge.

“I think I sense something…”

Han was still about ten feet off the ground, head cocked towards the sky.

“Do you mean me?” Anakin asked him uncertainly.

“No. Shhh,” Han commanded, still listening. Then, he gasped, shooting upwards another twenty feet. “I know what it is!”

“I feel it too,” Anakin murmured to Obi Wan, who nodded in agreement just as Han shouted, “It’s the _Falcon_! They’re here!”

Obi Wan stood up. “That was way faster than expected.”

“Chewie must have found them a shortcut of some sorts,” Anakin agreed. “We just watched them leave less than a rotation ago.”

“I have to tell Luke!” Han exclaimed, and both Jedi turned to him just in time to see him disappear. 

Anakin jumped. “Did he just—“

“I think he did,” Obi Wan said. “I guess the strong emotions—“

“But did he land it, though?” Anakin wondered, grabbing Obi Wan’s hand and taking them to the only place he could think Han would want to go. They reappeared inside Luke’s hut, where the very animated spirit of Han Solo was barking loudly at the hunched shoulders of Luke Skywalker, who was slowly shrugging on a robe and peering suspiciously out the window.

“Not bad at all, Han,” Obi Wan remarked quietly to Anakin, who hummed in agreement as the pair hovered back in the doorway.

“I know you know they’re coming, Luke, c’mon,” Han was begging. “Let’s go out and meet them together!”

Obi Wan and Anakin traded unhappy glances. Yesterday, Anakin and Han had both exhausted all remaining energy in their bodies and lungs giving everything they had to get Luke’s attention. 

It was in vain. 

Not even his closest friend could successfully bring Luke out of the stubborn depressive spiral he had screwed himself into.

Luke slowly made his way to the door, squinting unhappily at the daylight. Han was still at his side. “Yeah, that’s it! They’re— shit, look, they’ve broke atmosphere! You can see them!”

Luke’s eyes did drift just once towards the horizon, where a small grey smudge on it was gradually getting larger. With a rusty sigh, he started climbing up the steps outside his dwelling. 

Han shot a desperate glance at Obi Wan and Anakin. “Any chance you guys could help poof me up there? I think I pulled my biggest trick getting to Luke, and I do not feel like manually climbing those kriffing steps again right now.”

“I kind of want to climb the stairs; all this tension is killing me and I need to do something,” Anakin said. 

Han scowled at him, and Obi Wan quickly stepped into the middle of them, placing a hand on Anakin’s chest and reaching out to Han. “Peace. Anakin can climb the stairs with Luke; I will take Han to the top. Is that alright?”

The other two nodded their acquiescence, so Obi Wan reached up to pat Anakin’s cheek once in reassurance, before stepping back to grasp Han’s arm and apparate them up to the top.

Anakin watched them go, then moved to run after his son, who had already made it up a decent number of steps. He saw the hardened mask on Luke’s face as he stared at each step, eyes firmly on the ground and not even looking up as by now the winds from the _Millennium Falcon_ circling the island were buffeting Luke’s robes. He pulled them tighter with a grumble.

Anakin sighed, resting a hand over Luke’s shoulder, wishing his barriers were down so he could give his son any sense of comfort or support. 

_They’re coming to help you, Luke. Please let them help you!_

Luke’s aura didn’t even poke its head out of the tight space Luke had shoved it into at Anakin’s presence, and his father sighed again. The rest of the trek up the stairs was made in total silence.

Upon reaching the top, Anakin raised a brow at what he saw. 

Han and Obi Wan sat hovering cross-legged over the edge of the cliff, eyes closed, Obi Wan’s face the picture of tranquility while Han’s was slightly pink and screwed up in concentration.  
“Hello, Anakin,” Obi Wan greeted him. “Care to join us in meditation?”

Anakin gaped. “How did you get him to meditate with you?”

“I simply explained how it soothes the mind and increases your awareness,” Obi Wan said, rolling his shoulders.

“It’s not working yet,” Han grunted. “Stop talking, you’re messing me up.”

“The _Falcon_ just landed on the east side of the island, at the bottom,” Anakin reported.

“Yeah, that’s the only place on this stupid rock it would fit, now shush!” Han told him.

Anakin held back a snort, the pure absurdity of Han Solo attempting to meditate away his nerves seeming like something out of a dream.

A tug on his and Obi Wan’s mental bond redirected his attention to where Obi Wan was patting the patch of empty air next to him, mentally repeating the invitation for Anakin to join in.”

Anakin hesitated, sending back the memory of him trying to show Han meditation and letting his glowing aura stretch way too wide and draw in way too much at once, sending a blinding mental feedback to knock Han off his feet. 

Obi Wan sent back amusement, to which Anakin sent ruffled feathers that Obi Wan hurried to soothe with an extended hand.

_Together?_

Sending back the mental equivalent of an eyeball, Anakin made his way over, putting his hand in Obi Wan’s and holding it tight as he closed his eyes and did his best to lean back into the web surrounding them.

Before he could get too far, he heard Han give an offended cry of “Come on, Luke, really?” as Luke unknowingly walked directly through him to gaze out over the ocean, throwing him out of any focus he had gained. Grumbling, Han scooted over into Obi Wan’s space to reposition himself, forcing Obi Wan to shift right up against Anakin, knees overlapping. Taking comfort in his Master’s presence as well as his son’s— little as it currently was —Anakin shut his eyes again and worked on letting go of all the worries about Rey meeting Luke, about Ben, about Leia and the Resistance, about Snoke and the entire galaxy, and just _was._

Anakin drifted back and reopened his eyes and felt Obi Wan do the same right as Han, who might not have had as much success as they did, said softly, “Hey, here she comes.”

There was Rey’s flarestick Force signature lighting her steps up the path like a beacon, her bowed head and determined eyes visible as she reached the peak of the incline. 

Han was muttering nervously about how Rey had to have climbed all the entire stint from the very bottom to up here, couldn’t Luke have made it a bit easier for her, but Anakin's eyes were on his son, whose back had tensed into a solid line.

Anakin stood up from his pose, Obi Wan's fingers still grasped tightly in his.

Obi Wan clutched Anakin’s back just as tight in return, praying to any strand of the Force there was that this went well.

Rey’s face fell open in hesitant awe at the sight of the hooded figure faced away from her, aloof and mysterious, every bit the ethereal man the legends had whispered of.

If Luke frightened her, Anakin was going to have to be cross with him, because it was already radiating off of Rey just how scared she already was.

“Manners, Luke,” Obi Wan chided, voice tightly controlled. “At least say hello.”

Maybe Luke had actually heard his old Master, for he turned around slowly, lifting his hood from his face and examining Rey with deep scrutiny. The tiniest thread of Luke’s being curled outwards to brush against Rey’s beam of light curiously, and Obi Wan squeezed Anakin’s hand warningly to prevent him from taking this opportunity to make himself known to Luke as well.

_Give them a moment._

Then the moment stretched on, neither Luke or Rey moving or saying anything. The dullest sense of a question could be felt from Luke, met by Rey’s extreme hesitance, and Anakin knew someone needed to bend.

He had always been the reactionary one in the group.

“Rey,” Anakin spoke now, ignoring Obi Wan’s flexing grip. “The lightsaber. Show him our lightsaber.”

Rey heard him.

Obi Wan sucked in a breath he didn’t need as Rey, ever so slowly, moved a hand to her hip, unhooked the Skywalker lightsaber, and extended it towards its former master.

Luke’s eyes shone with an unnamed emotion, surprise flaring up clear as the day within him. Anakin could see the cogs turning inside his mind.

“What’s he going to do?” he asked Obi Wan.

“I don’t know,” Obi Wan said. 

Anakin looked at him. “What else can we do?”

Grey eyes met his in full confidence. “We can hope.”

“Shhhh!” Han scolded, tossing his other boot at them, and guiltily the two Jedi turned back to the young woman and the old man.

Anakin held Obi Wan’s hand, and the Force itself held its breath.

 

_~~To Be Continued~~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> __  
> **VERY LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!!**  
>   
> 
> YOU GUYS YOU GUYS YOU GUYS I DID IT!!!! I FINISHED THIS HECKIN' THING I AM SO PROUD OF ME!
> 
> Argh first of all, I just need to thank you guys all right now, so much, every person who kudosed, bookmarked, commented, or clicked in and read it, I love you all, you are amazing and I am forever grateful for all the support. Seriously, ppl have written comments about this fic that made me CRY, I seriously can't even with how much I appreciate everyone <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
> 
>  _THINGS TO KNOW:_  
>  \- Yes, I will be writing Force Ghost Reactions to the entire Sequel Trilogy  
> \- "And the Void Answered Back" will only cover TFA, the second fic will cover TLJ. It will be called "Piercing the Veil" and right now the tentative release date for it is mid-November. The untitled third fic will cover TROS, release date undetermined.  
> \- "Piercing the Veil" will be released before TROS is released, though I will take TROS into account for its end to give me some leeway for the third fic  
> \- EPISODE IX WILL MOST CERTAINLY JOSS MY ENTIRE HEADCANON FOR THE FORCE GHOSTS AND THIS SERIES WILL PROBABLY NOT BE CANON COMPLIANT. I already veered off course by bringing Han into things, and I have the beginnings of a plan to work around his definite absence in TROS and how I will add him. If we don't get Anakin/Vader in this movie that has his name in the title, is the definitive end to his family story, HAS HIS MAIN VILLAIN RETURNING, I will flip all of the tables, draw frowny faces in sidewalk chalk all over the Lucasfilms hq parking lot, and be generally Very Upset. However, I'm about 80% certain he will come back, and however Abrams is gonna insert him, it's undoubtedly gonna be different than my Anakin, so I'll have to adjust to that. Yoda will probably be fine, but I'm kinda doubtful we'll get Obi Wan at all, and we 100% won't have Qui Gon so I need to work around that too. I do have a plan, so I hope everyone sticks around to see it.  
> \- My next fic that will be released sometime this September is also Star Wars, but will not have to do with this series. It's a Prequels/TCW-era fixit poly romance, which should make it obvious it isn't part of this series, but just clarifying.
> 
> -If you guys didn't see the note at the beginning of the chapter, please consider looking, it's got my Tumblr URLs, and I am in desperate need of friends to yell about Star Wars with!!!! I am very friendly, I swear!!!!!!!
> 
> I think that's it? For the final time, comments are always welcome and appreciated, and I will see you all later!!!!! Mwah!


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